Building collapses in Navi Mumbai, residents escape death by a whisker

Two persons rescued and 24 managed to rush to safety when a three storey building collapsed in Belapur

Navi Mumbai: Two persons were rescued and 24 people managed to rush to safety when a three storey building collapsed in Belapur, Navi Mumbai, in the wee hours of Saturday, a police officer said.

The incident occurred at around 4.30 am when residents of the Indira Nivas building were sleeping in their homes. NRI Sagari Police Station, Senior Police Inspector, Satish Kadam said that barring the two injured who were rescued from the debris, there is no information of more people being buried under the rubble.

---

Minutes before the collapse, the residents were rudely awakened by tremors, rumbling sounds and household articles rattling, said one of the survivors. Anticipating a disaster, most residents rushed out of their homes leaving everything behind and shortly afterwards the entire structure crashed.

As the teams of the NRI Sagari Police Station, the Navi Mumbai Fire Brigade, SDRF and NDRF rushed to the spot, they were informed that two persons were trapped under the rubble. After nearly four hours of effort, both the victims were dug out of the debris and were rushed to a nearby hospital as they had sustained injuries in the crash.