Ghakopar building collapse: After chaos of day 0, death strikes on day 1

Till late night on Sunday, rescuers were breaking the bungalow to access the part where people are trapped. Pic/Satej Shinde

The three-storeyed bungalow that caved in at Ghatkopar East on Sunday morning left a 53-year-old man and his 94-year-old mother trapped for hours. Naresh and Alka Palande, who live on the first floor of bungalow number B/7/166, were still trapped at the time of going to press after a portion collapsed. Meanwhile, three people were rescued.

According to eyewitnesses in the Chittaranjan Nagar area, there was a loud rumbling sound around 9.20 am, after which, parts of the structure started to cave in. Ajinkya Wani, a family friend of the Palandes, said Arayn, who lives on the first floor, managed to escape safely in the nick of time. "He heard some shouts from outside and came near the window. As soon as the building started to tilt to one side he jumped out of the window," Ajinkya said.

Eyewitnesses claim there were voices coming from collapsed portion but they stopped by noon. Pic/Satej Sinde

People trapped

Arayn's father Naresh, a real estate agent, and grandmother Alka are trapped in the building. "They are tenants here for the past 5-6 years because their colony close by is under redevelopment," Ajinkya said. Aryan's mother Varsha was at her parent's home in Mulund along with his younger sister Riya when the incident took place.

Sanjay Palande, a relative, said, "We rushed here as soon as we learned about the crash. The rescue operations have been on since morning, but the team has been unable to reach them. The first and ground floors of the building have fully sunk. The second floor came to the ground level." Another relative said Naresh Palande was in the bathroom and his cell phone was on the bed, while Alka was in her room.

Heard noise

Local resident Jayesh Shah said there was a "different" noise and after some time he got to know that a building had collapsed. "As soon as we reached the spot we saw the second floor come down to the ground floor," he said.

Eyewitnesses also claim there were voices coming from the collapsed portion but they stopped by noon. Meanwhile, Mihika Jambosari and her husband were rescued by the fire brigade from the third floor.

The Palande family

According to sources, the colony was developed by Maharashtra Housing and Area and comprised row houses at the time. However, two and three-storied bungalows started coming up after 1990. No official permission was taken for this. But, the BMC officials did not confirm these allegations. However, the society has been convened long back, said a MHADA official. "The bungalow owner, Rohit Kumar Chapatwala who lives with his family in Australia, has taken permission from the BMC to construct. Some houses may have had illegal construction. Action is taken against these by our estate department. Such action has been taken only a few days ago," said the official. According to BMC data, the bungalow does not feature in the dilapidated list. NDRF personnel were trying to enter the collapsed portion but were facing limitations. "We also created a small hole in the wall and tried gaining access to the collapsed portion but couldn't find a way," a fire bridge officer said.

Around 6 pm, the NDRF decided to demolish the walls in the upper part of the building. "We are reducing the load on the building by demolishing the walls. Then we will try to enter the building from the upper side as well as from the lower portion," said Sarang Kurve, assistant commandant, NDRF.

Sanjay Palande and Ajinkya Wani

A local resident, Sachin Datar, who has been friends with Naresh for 45 years, told mid-day that the family earlier lived in a society not very far from the accident site. "They had their own house there since the 1960s but that is currently under redevelopment so they moved to this rented house." He described Naresh as the "social worker" of the area. Datar reached the spot as soon as he heard the news and stood in the heavy rain, hoping to see his friend again.

Another local resident, Mansukh Patel, said he used to meet Naresh every morning for walks. "I did not know him too well but we used to exchange greetings. He always seemed like a kind person." The rescue operations went on till the time of this report. Parts of the building, which locals said was 35 years old, were being torn down to rescue Naresh and his 94-year-old mother.

A fireman said that the building leaned on the side of the road. If it had leaned on the side building whose wall is adjacent to it, it would have posed a danger to the other building as well. The BMC also evacuated the side building. "The rescue operation is our priority," Deputy Municipal Commissioner Devidas Kshirsagar said. Meanwhile, the police took statements from Aryan, who managed to escape from the window, and his wife Varsha, who wasn't home at the time of the incident.

Pet CoCo trapped

A pet named CoCo of the Cocker Spaniel breed belonging to the Palande family is also stuck in a collapsed building. However, locals said they hadn't heard the sound of a dog since the collapse.