Building slab collapses in Ulhasnagar, 6 dead

At least six persons died after a slab of a residential building collapsed in Ulhasnagar, Thane, on Friday night. A search operation is on for one person who is reportedly missing.

According to officials of Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation, the incident took place at Nehru Chowk, where a slab of the five-storeyed Sai Siddhi building collapsed.

The slab from the fifth floor came crashing down till the ground floor and 8-9 people were stuck in the debris.

A team of Ulhasnagar fire brigade and National Disaster Response Force rushed to the spot. Six people were pulled out from the debris, all of whom were declared dead by doctors.

They were identified as Punit Chandwani, Dinesh Chandwani, Dipak Chandwani, Mohini Chandwani, Krushna Bajaj and Amrita Bajaj.

“Six people were found dead, and we suspect that one person is still missing and stuck under the debris. Efforts are on for rescue,” said a corporation official.

According to residents, there are 29 flats in the building which was constructed in 1995.

The incident took place around 9.30 pm, when the slabs of the living room of five flats came crashing down from the top floor to the ground floor in a few seconds.

Officials said the building was constructed using Ulva Reti, a cheap quality sand. “We are appealing to people to conduct structural audit of all buildings that were constructed using this sand,” an official said.

This is the second such incident in the city this month in which slabs have fallen from the top floor of a building.
On May 15, five persons including a 12-year-old died after a slab of residential building Mohini Palace collapsed in Ulhasnagar camp.