Mumbai tragedy: Death toll rises to 24, injured to 64

Thane (

), April 5: The death toll in the building collapse in Thane on Thursday evening has gone upto 24 people while the number of injured has risen to 64.

The builder of the construction site, where the tragedy took place has gone missing soon after the incident. A case of culpable homicide has been lodged against the builder.

The building collapsed at around 6:30 PM, the officials said, adding, the injured were rushed to various hospitals. Civic officials said the building in Shil Dhaigar locality was unauthorised. They claimed that it was built on forest land and was occupied at least up to the fourth floor.

At the time of incident, there were around 35 families in the building, they said. Rescue and relief operations continued till late in the night as victims were feared buried under the debris. More than a dozen fire tenders along with over 24 ambulances were stationed at the site of the accident.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force and hundreds of policemen from Mumbai were sent to the spot. It has been alleged that the building was illegal and did not have any proper certification.
Deputy Collector Manoj Gohad said the bodies had been extricated. Municipal Commissioner R A Rajeev and District Collector P Velarasu supervised the relief operation.

The injured were admitted to various hospitals including Thane Civil, CSM Civic hospital at Kalwa, Kalsekar hospital in Kalwa, while those in critical condition were shifted to Sion and JJ Hospital.

OneIndia News (With inputs from agencies)