In the fourth such building crash witnessed in Mumbai and surrounding areas in less than a month, three workers were killed and 26 others injured, when a two-storey structure housing a garment factory collapsed in Kalher village near the powerloom town of Bhiwandi in Thane district in the early hours of Thursday.
located in Arihant complex, the building — housing a garment factory ‘Big Garment’— caved in vertically, while some labourers were undertaking some construction work on the terrace of the structure — apparently in the midst of building an extra floor illegally.
Apart from the fire brigade personnel from Bhiwandi and nearby Thane city, a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also rushed to mishap site from Mumbai to undertake rescue and debris removal operation.
There were in all 45 employees inside the garment factory when the building crashed. While the fire brigade officials rescued 40-odd workers trapped under the debris of the collapsed structures, the bodies of three workers were removed during the day-long debris clearance operation.
The injured persons are undergoing treatment at the local Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital.
The fire brigade personnel prima facie attributed the dilapidated nature of the structure and excessive load on the structure to the collapse of the building.
Having launched a manhunt for the absconding owner of the building, the police have booked him for culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).