Seven of the 15 victims of the Virar building collapse have been identified, including a 24-year-old woman and her infant daughter, as rescue teams run against time to save those feared trapped in the debris.
At least 15 people were killed and many others are feared trapped after a rear section of an unauthorised four-storey building collapsed on an adjacent vacant chawl in Maharashtra Virar early on Wednesday, officials said. Among those killed in the incident included a woman and her one-year-old daughter and six others remain critically injured.
The structure, declared ‘illegal’ by the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC), came crashing down at 12.05 am.
Rescue operations have continued for more than 20 hours, with National Disaster Response Force units and civic teams clearing rubble first by hand and later with heavy machinery, delayed initially due to the building’s congested location.
District Collector Indu Rani Jakhar confirmed that some people could still be trapped beneath the debris. Officials said the collapse rendered several families homeless, all of whom have been shifted to Chandansar Samajmandir and provided with food, water, and medical aid.
Authorities have identified seven victims so far, including Arohi Omkar Jovil (24), her daughter Utkarsha (1), Laxman Kisku Singh (26), Dinesh Prakash Sapkal (43), Supriya Nivalkar (38), Arnav Nivalkar (11), and Parvati Sapkal.
Some bodies were pulled out of the debris, while others died during treatment at nearby hospitals, officials said.
According to authorities, the crash site has 50 flats in total, with the collapsed section housing 12 apartments. Officials said that although the chawl it fell on was vacant, nearby residents in adjoining tenements were evacuated as a precaution.
Meanwhile, police have arrested the builder, Nital Gopinath Sane, after the VVMC lodged a complaint against him. A case has also been registered against the landowner. The charges included violations under sections 52, 53, and 54 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act and section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
VVMC Assistant Commissioner Gilson Gonsalves said debris clearance is now “progressing on a war footing”.
