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Mumbai and Its Terrible Track Record of Collapsing Buildings

The BMC identified 791 buildings in the city which were unsafe.

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(This piece was originally published on 25 July 2017, and is being republished from The Quint’s archives after a building collapse in Mumbai’s Dongri on 16 July 2019.)

On Tuesday, a four-storey building collapsed in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar and killed 6 people, while injuring several more.

This should come as a major blow to the BMC, which has already come under fire for the potholes which abundantly dot the city’s roads. The BMC had already identified 791 buildings in the city which were unsafe.

Collapsing buildings are sadly not a new phenomenon in Mumbai. These are the major mishaps that have happened in the city over the past decade.

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2017

On 23 July, a bakery roof collapsed in SV Road on Jogeshwari (West), leaving three labourers dead.

On 21 July, a three-storey building collapsed in Dharavi, injuring all 12 male occupants. However, there were no fatalities in the incident.

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2016

A cylinder explosion in Mumbai’s Mankhurd on 15 December 2016 caused three single-storey buildings to collapse. The incident left three dead and 12 injured.

A five-storey building collapsed in the suburb of Bandra on 13 October 2016, killing six children.

On the outskirts of Mumbai, on 31 July 2016, a building collapsed in Bhiwandi. Eight people died when the three-storey tower fell.

The BMC identified 791 buildings in the city which were unsafe.
Rescue crew members search for survivors at the site of a collapsed residential building in Mumbai on 28 September 2013. 
(Photo: Reuters)
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2015

A half-century old, three-storey building collapsed in Thane in August 2015, which left 12 people dead.

A two-storey building partially collapsed in Thakurli in Dombivili, killing nine people. There were 26 flats in the building, of which 16 collapsed on 29 July 2015.

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2014

On 14 March 2014, in Santa Cruz’s Vakola. The building fell onto the neighbouring chawl and destroyed a substantial chunk of it.

The BMC identified 791 buildings in the city which were unsafe.
Rescue workers use a stretcher to carry a woman who was rescued from the rubble at the site of a collapsed residential building in Mumbai on 27 September 2013. 
(Photo: Reuters)

2013

27 September 2013 saw a four-storey buidling collapse in Mazgaon, which left 60 people dead and another 30 injured.

4 April of the same year saw the Mumbra Lucky Compound in Thane collapse, killing 72 people including 11 children. The building was under construction and 50 people were rescued from the seven-storey structure.

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2012

4 December saw an office building in Lower Parel collapse, which left two dead and six injured.

2011

Six people, including three minor girls, were killed in Bhayandar (East) when a three-storey building collapsed on 23 September 2011. Five people were rescued from the debris.

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2010

On 8 October, a CNG cylinder exploded in Bhendi Bazaar, causing a building to collapse, killing five and injuring 26 people as a result.

The BMC identified 791 buildings in the city which were unsafe.
Relatives of residents trapped under the rubble react at the site of a collapsed residential building in Mumbai on 27 September 2013.
(Photo: Reuters)

2008

Twenty-one people were killed when the Datta Niwas building collapsed in Kumbharwada on 17 August. Another 26 people were injured in the mishap.

2007

The Laxmi Chhaya building in Borivali (West) collapsed on 18 July, leaving 26 people dead. Another 37 people were rescued from the debris.

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1998

On 3 August, the Govind Towers at Kherwadi, Bandra (East) collapsed within 20 years of its construction, leaving 35 dead and 23 injured.

1997

Five people were killed and 28 injured on 17 September, when a section of the seven-storeyed Poonam Chambers in Worli collapsed. The cause was believed to be a ground-floor occupant who removed a load bearing column.

(We all love to express ourselves, but how often do we do it in our mother tongue? Here's your chance! This Independence Day, khul ke bol with BOL – Love your Bhasha. Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at bol@thequint.com or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)

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Topics:  Mumbai   BMC   Building Collapse 

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