Part of another building collapses in Mahim

Just days after the collapse of Aftab Manzil in Mahim claimed 10 lives, a portion of another building called Rail View gave way at 1.57 am yesterday. The building is located opposite Mahim railway station.

The fire brigade rescued a couple from the second floor. The other tenants of the building were away and hence survived the collapse. The building was cessed property but did not feature in MHADA's list of dangerous buildings

The staircase of the three-storey structure crashed, unable to hold the weight of a water tank just above it. A fire official said, "The water tank was very heavy, and because of incessant rains, the structure hadu00a0become weak, due to which the staircase came crashing down. We rescued a couple from the second floor, and there were no casualties." The tank above the staircase provided water to a spa on the building's ground floor.

Albert Henriques, an occupant of the building, was rescued along with his wife. The other tenants of the building were away and hence survived the collapse. Due to the collapse, the rear part of a bungalow adjacent to the building, also called Rail View, got damaged, rendering its kitchen, bathroom and toilet unusable. Water gushing out of the broken tank flooded the bungalow.

The Dias family, which owns bungalow, alleged that they have complained about the deplorable condition of the building to the BMC, but no action has been taken. The ward officer of G-North ward, Sharad Ugade, said, "The building is cessed property and actually belongs to MHADA." However, it does not feature in the dangerous buildings' list issued by MHADA.

Mohan Thombre, CEO for Mumbai Repairs and Reconstruction of Buildings Board, said, "We have a transit camp ready for the tenants in case they wish to vail of the accommodation. Our engineers are inspecting the building to ascertain if it is dangerous. The report will be out by today. If it is found to be dangerous it will have to be demolished." u00a0