The death toll in the Malad reservoir wall collapse climbed up to 27 after a patient at the civic-run Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle succumbed to his injuries on Friday.
Doctors said Sunil Jadhav had multiple severe injuries and went into sudden cardiac arrest, which led to his death. Jadhav (50) had a rib fracture, femur shaft fracture and a hip joint dislocation, beside multiple other injuries, and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. “We were treating him conservatively with non-invasive methods because of the nature of his injuries. Around 5.30 a.m., his condition deteriorated and he went into cardiac arrest. We tried to revive him, but our attempts failed. He was declared dead at 6.30 a.m.,” a doctor from Cooper Hospital said.
Jadhav, a labourer, lived in a shanty with his wife Sarubai (49) and son Ravi (21). While Sarubai is also admitted to the hospital with a thigh fracture, Ravi escaped unhurt.
Nearly 67 people injured in the collapse remain under treatment in the five civic-run hospitals. Parel’s KEM Hospital, where three serious patients were transferred, has discharged one patient while the two others remain under treatment. “Both have undergone plastic surgeries,” Dr. Hemant Deshmukh, dean of the hospital, said.
HBT Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari is treating 11 of the injured. “One patient was admitted on Friday. She said she was taking treatment at a private hospital, but had exhausted her finances and therefore came to us,” said Dr. Vidya Mane, medical superintendent of HBT Trauma Care Hospital.
Meanwhile, Sonali Sakpal, in her 20s, still remains missing. “The search operation is still on. We are helping the fire brigade officials and others to clear the debris,” Bala Sakharkar, Sakpal’s uncle, said. Sakpal had her named in English tattooed on her hand, he said. Her parents and two siblings are admitted to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Municipal General Hospital in Kandivali.