As the death toll continues to rise in the building collapse in south Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazaar area on Thursday, The Quint’s reporter Ankita Sinha gives us the lowdown, from ground zero. As rescue operations are underway, some people are still feared trapped. 10 fire engines, a police force and rescue officials are at the disaster zone, and a massive hunt is on to pull out anyone trapped beneath the rubble.
The children who studied at the nursery housed inside the building, escaped by a whisker, as the building collapsed at around 8:30 am, almost over an hour before their classes were to begin.
It is yet to be revealed whether the five-storey building was on the list of dangerous structures under the BMC limits. The incident occurred two days after the city received torrential rains, which is suspected to have damaged the building.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences in a tweet on 31 August, calling the incident that led to 19 deaths “saddening.”
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