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2013 Thane building collapse

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2013 Thane building collapse
Date4 April 2013 (2013-04-04)
LocationShil Phata, Mumbra, Thane, Maharashtra, India
Coordinates19°08′45″N 73°02′36″E / 19.145898°N 73.043361°E / 19.145898; 73.043361 Shil Phata, Mumbra, Mumbai is located in MumbaiShil Phata, Mumbra, MumbaiShil Phata, Mumbra, Mumbaiclass=notpageimage| Location of Mumbra within Mumbai
Deaths72, including 26 children
Non-fatal injuries36 – 62

On 4 April 2013, a building collapsed in Mumbra, a suburb of Thane in Maharashtra, India. There were more than 100 survivors. 72 people died, including 26 children, and 36–62 people were injured. The search for additional survivors ended on 6 April 2013, but the death toll may increase. Workers found it difficult to locate people on three of the floors because the floors were "sandwiched" in the collapse.

The building was under construction and did not have an occupancy certificate for its 100 to 150 low- to middle-income residents. It was reported that the building was illegally constructed and that the builder wanted it to be occupied to prevent it from being torn down.

Living in the building were construction workers and families. The police registered a claim of "culpable homicide" against the builder and arrested two builders in connection with the disaster. An investigation commenced to investigate the extent to which governmental officials were responsible for the events leading up to the collapse. On 5 April, a senior police officer and the Deputy Commissioner of Thane were suspended for collusion and dereliction of duty, respectively.

Collapse

At 6:30 p.m. IST (13:00 UTC) on 4 April 2013, a building collapsed at Shil Phata of Mumbra, a suburb of Thane in Maharashtra, India. The building collapsed quickly. First a section of the building collapsed, tilted then the entire building was brought down. A witness described the event, "The building collapsed like a pack of cards within three to four seconds."

According to Hasina Shaikh, a school girl who lived on the fifth floor with her family: "I had just returned from school and was changing when the building started shaking and came down on us... When I regained consciousness later, I was in the hospital." She says she considers herself lucky to be alive. One survivor is a 10 month old girl whose parents have not yet been found as of 6 April 2013. Reuters reported the last survivor was found on 5 April, a woman who was "found after workers heard her voice and used camera equipment to pinpoint her location under the rubble."

According to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, payments of Rs 50,000 will be made to the injured, and Rs 200,000 will be made to the next of kin of the deceased.

Building under construction

The building, with offices and apartments, was under construction for six weeks prior to the disaster, but there are varying reports on the extent of the completion of construction of the building. The Times of India reported that "Twenty-five tenements on five storeys were complete and the sixth and seventh floors were under construction." Although there was no occupancy certificate, the first four stories of the building were illegally inhabited by construction workers who were working on the building and families. The families were those headed by rickshaw drivers and/or those whose children attended tuition classes in the building. It is believed that the builder wanted the building to be inhabited to prevent it being demolished.

The developers, who intended to build up to 8 such illegal buildings, intended to sell the apartments for Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,400 per square foot. On average, the apartments were 175 square feet.

Construction

The building had come to the attention of the Municipal Commissioner RA Rajeevsaid because the building was illegally built on forest land. He said, "We had repeatedly asked the forest department to take action. We had asked MSEB to cut electricity to the building. We have issued total notices to about 250 illegal buildings in this belt. We try forcible removal. It is not easy. Also it's a congested area our equipment is unusable here."

There has yet to be confirmation that the buildings were constructed on forest land.

Rescue and investigation efforts

Rescue

The rescue efforts were supervised by District Collector P Velarasu and Municipal Commissioner RA Rajeev. Immediately upon notification of the incident medical teams and fire tenders were dispatched to the location. A number of local hospitals have been treating the injured. The most critically injured people were sent to Sion and JJ Hospitals. People with more moderate injuries have been treated at Thane Civil Hospital and to the Kalsekar and CSM Civic hospitals in Kalwa. About 30 people were reported to have serious injuries.

K.P. Raghuvanshi, Thane's police commissioner, reported initially that the focus of the activity was to rescue as many people as possible from the wreckage. Workers, including the national disaster relief agency, used bulldozers, hydraulic jacks, power saws and sledgehammers to break through the "mound of steel and concrete" generated after the building collapsed.

The rescue effort ended on 6 April, per a spokesman for India's disaster response agency, R.S. Rajesh: "We have dug beyond the basement level, and everything is now cleared; there's nothing left."

Investigation of the builders

The building collapse appeared to be the result of poor quality building material and being "weakly built", according to police inspector Digamber Jangale and police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi, respectively. As a result, the police have registered a claim of "culpable homicide". Commissioner Raghuvanshi reported on 6 April 2013: "Builders Jamil Qureshi and Salim Shaikh were arrested from their hideouts today." The Times of India reported: "Qureshi was nabbed from Uttar Pradesh, while Shaikh was apprehended from Thane."

An unidentified local witness stated that: "They made an eight-story building of what was supposed to be a four-story building. People from the municipality used to visit the building but the builder still continued to add floors."

Officials suspended

Ramesh Patil, a legislator of the MNS party for Thane, stated that the week before the incident he had complained the the building was unfit and it was not a legal building. Patil wrote and sent photographs of this and other buildings to TMC chief R A Rajeev, chief secretary Jayanthkumar Banthia, and the chief minister. Nothing was done, however, to have prevented the deaths and injuries when the building collapsed.

At a state assembly meeting Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan assured the participants that there would be a thorough investigation of the circumstances leading up to the collapse of the building. Actions would be taken against any police officers or the Range Forest Officer who had played a part in allowing the building to be constructed on park land. Two individuals have been suspended: senior police inspector K P Naik for collusion and the Deputy Commissioner of Thane, Deepak Chavan, for dereliction of duty.

Underlying issues

The prevalence of building collapses in India seems to be a multi-faceted problem. There is a lack of housing coupled with high population growth, and illegal buildings are attractive to lower income people because of the low housing costs. Many people moved to the greater Mumbai area in search of jobs, and without affordable housing, thousands sleep in slums or on the streets. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation reports that there are approximately 19 million families with inadequate housing. To meet the demands, there are many buildings constructed illegally. Further, some builders do not follow proper building practices and laws, nor do they execute proper safety measures. Poor construction materials are also to blame in these circumstances. Within the Mumbai region there are estimated to be hundreds of illegal structures that have been built. Sameer Hashmi, BBC reporter, reports that activists "allege that unscrupulous builders often pay hefty bribes to authorities who turn a blind eye to these illegal structures and do not take any action against the builders."

RT reports that: "...incidents of this kind are not rare in India, where builders often care more for cutting construction expenses than for the security and quality of the work being done."

Speculation has begun as to whether there was sufficient resources, both in terms of training and specialized equipment, to manage an event of this consequence.

See also: Parsik Hill, Illegal Housing section

Notes

  1. The Voice of America reported on 6 April 2013 that 36 people were still being treated at local hospitals.

References

  1. "India ends search for survivors in Mumbai rubble". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  2. ^ Prakash, Vivek. "Death toll rises to 72 in Mumbai building collapse". Reuters. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Death toll rises to 72 in India building collapse". CNN. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  4. "72 Dead in Indian Building Collapse ". Voice of America. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  5. ^ "Is Municipality as much to blame as builders for Thane building collapse?" IBN. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  6. ^ "India ends search for survivors in Mumbai rubble". BBC Online. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  7. ^ "Death Toll Hits 72 In India Building Collapse". NPR. Associated Press. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  8. ^ "45 killed as building collapses in India (PHOTOS)" RT News 5 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  9. ^ "India building collapse near Mumbai kills 45." BBC News. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  10. "Thane building collapse: 2 developers arrested; toll touches 72". The Hindu. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  11. "Death toll in Thane building collapse mounts to 72." The Hindu Business Line. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  12. ^ Jethro Mullen and Harmeet Shah Singh. "At least 46 people killed in India building collapse." CNN. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  13. ^ Shoaib Ahmed, CNN-IBN. "Thane building collapse: 67 dead, marathon rescue operation still on." CNN-IBN 5 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  14. ^ Nitin Yeshwantrao. "Thane building collapse: 56 including 19 children dead, many missing". The Times of India. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  15. "Mumbra building collapse: Death toll over 70". Jai Maharashtra News. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  16. "Two developers arrested for Thane building collapse". Times of India. 6 April 2013. Retrieved 6 April 2013.
  17. ^ "Thane building collapse: Municipal officer suspended, probe ordered". IBN. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  18. "38 killed as building collapses in India (PHOTOS)" RT News 5 April 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  19. Shoaib Ahmed, CNN-IBN (6 April 2013). "Thane building: Fire brigade ill-equipped to deal with such a tragedy?". IBN. Retrieved 5 April 2013. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
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