The Death Toll of Collapsed Flat in India is Rising

At least eleven people were killed when a flat in India collapsed on Monday evening. Twenty to seventy people were buried under the rubble.

 

Sixty people have now been rescued from the havoc, including a 4-year-old boy. It was freed from the rubble on Tuesday with loud cheers and placed on a stretcher. Three rescue teams with sniffer dogs worked all night.

The residential tower in Mahad, in which approximately two hundred people lived in 47 apartments, collapsed like a house of cards, police said. Family members desperately search for their loved ones under the concrete and stone, calling out their names in the hope of a response.

Authorities say many residents have likely been spared for fleeing the city south of Mumbai due to the corona epidemic. No one knows precisely how many people can still lie in the rubble.

Shabana Lora managed to flee the building with her three daughters when it started to shake. “We were just a few yards from the building when we heard a loud noise. There was smoke everywhere, and the building collapsed seconds after we ran out.”

The cause of the collapse is not yet known, but it is more common in India for buildings to collapse due to poor construction, poor quality materials and ignoring regulations.