Mumbai Rains: Malad wall collapse death toll rises to 23

NDRF jawans carry the body of a victim from the debris, after a portion of a compound wall collapsed on shanties adjacent to it, at Malad East, Mumbai, Tuesday, July 02, 2019

The death toll in the wall collapse incident that took place on late Monday night around 12.30 am at Ambedkar Nagar and Pimpripada at Kurar Village, Malad East increases to 23 as one more person was removed from the debris on Tuesday morning who was declared dead by Traas care hospital at Jogeshwari east. The deceased was identified as Pappu Shah (38).

The search operations at the site still continue. The fire brigade and the NDRF teams had a tough time to carry out operations on late Monday night after they reached the spot post 2.00 am to carry out the rescue. It was severely affected owing to lack of electricity during the night and heavy rainfall on Monday night, whereas Tuesday night operations were performed in floodlights placed by the ward office.

The Search and Rescue Operations still continue as nobody in the vicinity submitted a head count hence it was difficult to tell how many could be trapped.

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: Two men suffocate to death in Malad subway

The fire brigade had to work without the use of heavy machinery and had to rely mainly on battery operated and manual tools, and also had to be careful about the use of heavy equipment during the rescue operations.

The BMC ward officials are now finding ways to clear the debris as there is no access especially for heavy vehicles to lift it.

Also Read: Kalyan wall collapse: Physically challenged mother killed as she could not move

"It was very difficult to access the site for staging rescue equipment. Crowd management, as well as the intermittent rainfall, was major hurdles for carrying out rescue operations throughout Tuesday. Despite this, the operation was carried out using portable generators, advanced hydraulic cutter/ spreader, petrol operated saw and rotary cutters. Search for any trapped is still continued," said Chief Fire Officer, PS Rahangdale.

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