On Sunday, after a rescue operation which lasted over 18 hours, a man was successfully extracted from debris after a three story building collapsed in Maharashtra's Bhiwandi city, Mumbai Metropolitan Region on April 29 at around 2 pm. However, the rescue operation continues, as nine people could still be trapped, while a total of 14 people have been rescued so far.
The death toll from the incident that reportedly took place in the Wardhaman Compound currently stands at three.
Videos showing teams of police, disaster response personnel, and others deployed to rescue people trapped in the debris are doing the rounds on the Internet.
Calling the incident "most unfortunate," Maharashtra state chief Eknath Shinde, who visited the survivors at the hospital as well as the rescue team at the accident site, expressed his condolences and announced INR 500,000 ($6,116) each to the kin of the deceased.
According to the reports, over the last four years, several buildings have collapsed in Bhiwandi, claiming 58 lives.
Shinde also instructed the authorities to immediately carry out a survey of the structures declared ‘most dangerous’ in the district.
He also directed the officials to immediately shift residents of such buildings to safer places as the monsoon was just around the corner.
A police case has also been filed against the owner of the building, Indrapal Patil.