Mumbai, (The Hindu): Three people were killed and nine others were injured after a ground-plus-three-storey residential building collapsed in Bhiwandi on Friday morning. Officials said that one more resident is feared trapped under the debris.

Officials from the Bhiwandi Nizampura Municipal Corporation said that the building, Tahir Manzil, in Navi Basti collapsed around 9 a.m. While some residents managed to save themselves, several were trapped inside.

NDRF despatched

While the fire brigade, civic officials and police reached the spot within the hour, it was decided to call in the National Disaster Response Force. Two teams were despatched to the location within two hours of the collapse.

“One body was removed from the debris in the morning, and two others by evening. We also rescued nine residents from the debris, and they have been admitted to Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) Hospital in Bhiwandi and Thane Civil Hospital,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil, Zone III, Thane police.

The deceased have been identified as Rukhsar Khan (18), Ashfaq Khan (38) and Zaibunissa Ansari (60). Officials said that Zaibunissa’s son Tahir owns the building, while the others were tenants. The police said that Tahir managed to run out of the building when it started falling, but Zaibunissa could not get out quickly enough and was trapped under the debris. Her body was the last to be removed.

The search for one more resident, Ashfaq’s wife, is still under way. “We first mistook Zaibunissa’s body for that of Ashfaq’s wife’s, but then realised that the latter is still missing. The operation is almost at its end, and we might find her soon,” said Mr. Patil.

He said all the other residents are accounted for.

Of the nine injured, Khwaja Sayyed (70), Rehan Khan (5), Salma Ansari (45), Asif Khan (21) and Abid Khan (22) have been admitted to Thane Civil Hospital, while Shakeel Ansari (37), Yakub Khan (58), Imrana Khan (22) and Sabir Khan (55) are being treated at IGM Hospital.

After preliminary inquiries, the police found enough grounds to book Tahir for allegedly causing death and injury, and endangering the lives of others due to negligence.