BOMBAY, 24 August 2005 — A four-story building collapsed here early yesterday morning and at least 11 people were killed and dozens of others believed to be trapped under the debris, police said.
“The number of dead is 11 now,” said a police official who asked not to be identified. The official earlier said at least 28 people were believed to be trapped, but no clear figure had emerged by late last night.
He said seven women were among the dead, as well as a child and three men.
Bombay’s chief fire officer, A.D. Jhandwal, told AFP that around 40 people had been rescued from the rubble.
“We have searched the rubble and till now no more bodies have been found,” Jhandwal said.
The official earlier said that, according to eyewitness reports, the entire building collapsed at once before dawn when its residents were asleep.
Suresh Karande, a senior official of the housing authority of Maharashtra state, of which Bombay is the capital, said the collapsed structure was almost 90 years old and had been repaired with state funds two years ago.
“The residents shall be provided with temporary quarters,” he said.
Situated in Bombay’s southcentral Nagpada area, the building had housed 22 families and a number of shops, police said.
Heavy machinery was brought in to lift rubble as rescue teams searched for survivors.
Local officials this week released data that about 19,000 high-rise buildings in south Bombay are “old and dilapidated”.
“We are going to look into the causes for the collapse and discuss with the concerned authorities how to tackle making dilapidated buildings safe for residents,” state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh told television channels.
Vast swathes of Bombay, India’s financial capital, were inundated after the heaviest monsoon rains recorded in India lashed the city last month, claiming more than 400 lives.
Environmentalists and urban planners blamed the widespread flooding in Bombay on poor drainage caused by rampant unscrupulous development that blocked water exits.
