नवीनतम
Palghar building collapse: Death toll rises to 15
PALGHAR [Maha Media]: The death toll in the building collapse at Virar in Maharashtra's Palghar district has gone up to 15 as rescue teams recovered three more bodies during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday.
The unauthorised four-storey building, housing nearly 50 flats, collapsed on an adjacent vacant tenement at Vijay Nagar in Virar area at 12.05 am on Wednesday, they said.
A one-year-old girl's birthday party was underway on the fourth floor when 12 flats in a wing of the building collapsed, trapping residents and guests under the debris, as per eyewitnesses.
Palghar District Collector Dr Indu Rani Jakhar on Thursday morning confirmed to PTI that the death toll in the incident has gone up to 15. The work of clearing the debris by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other rescue teams will continue to ensure no other person is trapped under the rubble, she said.
The NDRF has deployed two teams from its 5th battalion to the site. In the initial manual and canine search, four people were pulled out; one was declared dead on site, and three were rescued alive.
According to NDRF Deputy Commander Pramod Singh, "Two teams of the NDRF responded to the accident site--one from Mumbai and one from Palghar. As soon as the information was received at 12 am, the nearest team responded immediately."
Emergency services, including the fire brigade and local police, are actively involved alongside NDRF teams. Authorities have set up barricades to maintain crowd control and are assessing the structural integrity of adjacent buildings. Several residents in adjoining buildings have been temporarily evacuated as a precautionary measure.
Those rescued are receiving treatment at hospitals in Virar and Nalasopara, with some in serious condition. Authorities are continuing their search to ensure no one remains trapped and are investigating the cause of the collapse further.
