3 dead, several feared trapped as apartment building in Mumbai's Virar collapses during party; Rescue ops underway

At least three people lost their lives, and several were feared trapped under the debris after a section of a four-storey residential building, Mumbai's Ramabai Apartment in Virar East, partially collapsed late on Tuesday night, according to a report in Dainik Bhaskar. Meanwhile, different reports suggest that 2 people have died, but there is no confirmation from the official end.

The incident took place around 11:30 pm when the fourth floor of the building crashed down during a birthday party. Following the incident, a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the fire brigade of the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation rushed to the spot, launching search-and-rescue operations. In order to find all the trapped people, officials have also deployed a specialised dog squad.

How many people have been rescued?

Amid the rescue operations, NDRF Deputy Commander Pramod Singh told news agency ANI, “Two teams of the NDRF responded to the accident site. One team is from Mumbai and one is from Palghar. As soon as the information was received at 12 am, the nearest team responded. In the primary manual and canine search, four people were pulled out. Among them, one was dead, and three were rescued alive. A one-year-old child died on the way to the hospital. 11 people have been rescued so far. The locals say that around 5 people may still be trapped... The rescue may continue today and tomorrow. All the work has to be done manually as the way to the building is narrow and heavy machinery cannot be brought here.”

Officials involved in the rescue effort have also evacuated the other parts of the building to prevent further casualties, but the extent of the damage is still being assessed.

The official confirmed that the building was constructed ten years ago, and has already received a notice from the municipal corporation for a structural audit. After the collapse, the apartment complex was evacuated as soon as possible.

(More details are awaited.)