At least 38 people were killed and two persons went missing after a residential building collapsed on Monday in Bhiwandi, 38 km west from Mumbai as the rescue operations ended on Thursday.
The casualties included 17 children and 25 others being admitted to hospital for multiple injuries after the three-storey building caved in, early Monday morning when the residents were asleep.
Rescue operations were extended on Wednesday night after a fresh attempt to locate two more missing persons was undertaken in the textile hub with large number of power looms in Bhiwandi, a town that has recently turned in a logistics hub for e-commerce companies.
The first and second floors of the collapsed building had caved into the soil and only the flattened third floor was on the ground.
Rescue team managed to reach the first floor on the third day.
Most of the residents in the ill-fated building were autorickshaw drivers, vendors or laborers, who stayed at a monthly rent of 40.8-54.4 U.S dollars.
The monsoon season in India that prevails during June-September with torrential rains are often blamed for collapse of dilapidated and illegally built buildings in India.
Last month, over a dozen people died after a building collapsed in the industrial town of Mahad, 165 km south of Mumbai.
The local civic body of the Bhiwandi has called for a fresh list of dilapidated buildings to address such unforeseen and unfortunate incidents.
According to India’s National Crime Records Bureau, 38,363 people lost their lives due to collapse of various structures between 2001-2015, most of which were collapse of residential houses.
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief over the incident and offered their condolences to the bereaved families.
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