Over 24 killed and many others feared trapped in a building collapse at South Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazar on Thursday morning. Express photo by Nirmal Harindran
WHEN HE came to Mumbai from Bihar, Hafeez Mohsin Shaikh (38) had only one goal — to gather enough funds to build a mosque in Sirsa. He would carry a receipt book at all times, always ready for a prospective donor. On Thursday, he was fast asleep on the ground floor of Husaini building, in a tailor’s shop no more than 10 feet by 10 feet, when the building came crashing down.
“He told me he had collected a lot of money. We could save neither him nor the money,” said brother Maqsood Alam.
Mohsin succumbed to blunt trauma injuries, as did a 12-year-old boy, Altaf Mansoori, who was asleep alongside him. Altaf’s father Haider, the tailor, is visiting their family in Darbhanga. “Haider said he’d return to Mumbai after Eid. What do we tell him now?” Alam said.
Altaf is one of the two minors to die in Thursday’s collapse.
Saeed Shaikh (43) was the only one to make it out alive from the tiny tailoring unit. “I heard a sudden noise. The other two were asleep. Instinctively, I ran for the road and the building came crashing down,” Saeed said. He sustained a fracture in his leg and is now admitted in JJ Hospital, having lost all his belongings except the clothes on his body. “When I was rescued, the ambulance helper took my identification proof, watch, mobile, and Rs 2,000 that was in my shirt pocket. I don’t know who he was,” Saeed claimed.
Several Dawoodi Bohra residents were fasting to observe the final day of Hajj on Thursday. Among them, Tasneem (50) and Hasan Arsiwala (53) were in their fourth-floor flat when the building collapsed. Both died on the spot. Their son Juzer sustained minor injuries. He was taken to JJ Hospital and later shifted to Saifee Hospital. “I had never seen cracks in their flat. It never looked like it would fall,” said Zoher Arsiwala, Tasneem’s brother.
“We do not know that the building had been served a notice to vacate. Hasanbhai never mentioned that,” said Shabbir Changi, a relative.
Of the 37 brought to JJ Hospital on Thursday, 21 were declared dead. “Four are critical. They have head injuries, multiple fractures and chest injuries,” said Dr TP Lahane, dean of JJ Hospital. At least six underwent surgeries on Thursday.
