Thane building crash: Death toll climbs to 72; no arrests yet

THANE: Rescuers continued to recover more bodies from the debris of the seven-storey illegal under- construction building that collapsed in Shil Phata area, taking the death toll to 72 today.

According to the Regional Disaster Management Control (RDMC) sources, the mishap left 72 people dead including 33 men, 22 women, and 17 children.

Of the 60 injured, 36 have been admitted to hospitals in Thane, Kalwa and Mumbra. The seriously injured have been shifted to JJ and Sion Hospitals in Mumbai.

A 65-year-old woman, identified as Kutibi Shaikh, was rescued after being trapped in the debris for almost 30 hours, they said. She was admitted to the CSM hospital here last night in a state of shock but is stable, doctors said.

At the collapse site, another survivor Shabnam told reporters that she had received a distress call on her mobile phone from a young teacher around 3 PM yesterday saying she was trapped alongwith six-seven students, but lost contact thereafter.

The fate of the teacher and students is still not known even as relief operations are underway.

Earlier, the National Disaster Response Force, pressed into service to assist local police and civic administration, had rescued 59 people.

A case has been registered against builders Salil and Khalil Jamadar under Sec 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of IPC but no arrests have been made so far, police control room said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had yesterday told the Maharashtra Assembly that the local deputy municipal commissioner and senior police inspector were suspended and an additional chief secretary level probe has been ordered.

The illegal structure, which was under-construction, collapsed in Shil Phata area on Thursday. Shil Phata is located between Mumbra and Dombivli in Thane district.