A tragic incident occurred early Saturday morning in Navi Mumbai’s CBD Belapur area when a four-storey residential building collapsed, resulting in the death of three individuals and injuries to two others, reported. The incident happened around 4:50 am in Shahbaz village.

Officials reported that the two injured individuals were rescued from beneath the rubble and taken to the hospital. Fortunately, the scale of the tragedy was mitigated by the timely evacuation of 52 residents after cracks were detected in the building during the early hours.

“The building, which housed 13 residential units and three shops, collapsed early this morning,” stated Kailas Shinde, Commissioner of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC). “A man and a woman were rescued and are currently receiving treatment at the hospital.”

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the municipal fire brigade launched a rescue operation immediately following the collapse. By noon, the body of one man was recovered, followed by the discovery of two more bodies later in the day. The deceased have been identified as Mohammad Miraj Altaf Hussain (30), Miraj Saif Ansari (24), and Safique Ahmed Rahmat Ali Ansari (28). Their bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination.

According to Commissioner Shinde, the building was 10 years old, and an investigation will be conducted to determine the cause of the collapse.

Divisional Fire Officer Purushottam Jadhav explained that some residents noticed cracks in the building in the early hours and promptly alerted authorities. “The fire brigade team arrived on the scene and evacuated 52 residents, including 13 children, just in time before the structure collapsed,” he said.

Rescue teams managed to pull Lal Mohammad (22) and Rukhsana (21) from the rubble around 6 am. Efforts to locate another person feared trapped were initially unsuccessful, but it was later discovered that two of his friends were also with him at the time of the collapse. A dog squad assisted in the rescue operation.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who was in Delhi for a Niti Aayog governing council meeting, contacted the Navi Mumbai municipal commissioner and instructed that necessary assistance be provided to the injured and affected individuals, according to an official release by the Thane district administration.

The NDRF confirmed that the final search efforts are underway, and the debris removal process is ongoing.

This tragic event follows a week of heavy and incessant rains that affected Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Raigad, and parts of the Maharashtra capital metropolitan region. However, the rains had subsided in the past two days.

With inputs from the agency.