A 117 year old building that collapsed yesterday in Mumbai in Bhendi Bazar area resulted in the death of 33 people and injured 19.
Among the victims 9 were women and 23 were men. Experts believe the heavy rainfall in Mumbai shook the old building out of its foundation.
Many expected the building to collapse and it was declared unsafe nearly 7 years ago but no action was taken to avoid the inevitable.
The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis visited the collapsed building and announced Rs. 5 lakhs as ex gratia compensation to the next of kin of those who died in the collapse.
There are still a few people feared to be under the rubble and rescue operations are still going on at the site.
A resident of the area, Amina Sheikh said, “There was a massive bang. We couldn’t see anything due to the dust and smoke. Once the dust settled, we realized it was a building collapse.”
The locals are frustrated and blame the authorities for not acting sooner.
A news reporter who was at the site talking to the people said, “People here say they watched some of their friends and relatives pulled out of the rubble. They also say that there were complaints of structural damage on the building before, but authorities failed to act on it.”
