Kurla building collapse: BMC will conduct a probe, says Mumbai civic chief IS Chahal

After three people were killed and 13 others injured after a four-storey residential building collapsed in Kurla on Monday night, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief IS Chahal visted the site today and said that the civic body will conduct a probe into the matter.

Chahal said that the fire bridge and NDRF have been requested to carry out the search and rescue operation carefully as there could be some people alive inside.

"3 people died and 4 were admitted to the hospital, while 9 people were discharged after the primary treatment," the BMC chief said.

"As per the fire brigade,there are 7-8 people trapped under the debris of the building. Police suspect that there could be even more people," Chahal aded.

"I have requested the fire bridge and NDRF to carry out the operation (search and rescue operation) carefully as there could be some people alive inside. The civic body will conduct a probe," IS Chahal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

A wing of the building, located in Kurla's Naik Nagar Society, collapsed around on Monday midnight.

The injured people were shifted to civic hospitals in Ghatkopar and Sion.

Earlier, locals informed the fire brigade personnel that around 20-22 people were trapped under the debris, when they reached the spot after receiving a call about the incident, the official said, adding that the numbers may vary.

Around a dozen fire engines were deployed at the spot, besides two rescue vans and other fire brigade equipment, an official said.

Teams of the fire brigade and the NDRF were engaged in the search and rescue operations at the site along with civic staff and police.

A connected wing of building was also in a dilapidated condition and likely to collapse, and its residents were shifted out.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had been issuing notices to the collapsed building repeatedly since 2013, under provisions of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, initially for repairs and then for vacating it and demolition, Additional Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide told PTI.

This is the third major building collapse incident in Mumbai this month.

On June 23, the slab of a two-storey industrial structure collapsed in Chembur area, killing a 22-year-old person and injuring 10 others.

On June 9, a three-storey residential building collapsed in suburban Bandra, where a 55-year-old man was killed and 18 others suffered injuries.

(with agency inputs)