Raigad building collapse case: FIR lodged against five accused; search and rescue operations underway

A day after a five-storeyed building in Maharashtra’s Raigad district collapsed, the police has registered a case against five persons in connection with the tragic incident. The FIR against the five accused has been registered at the Kahad Police Station under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code, sources said on Tuesday (August 25, 2020).

At least one person was killed, and 60 others were rescued after the five-storey residential building collapsed in Mahad city in the Raigad district of Maharashtra on Monday (August 24) evening. 

Sources said that 20-25 people are still feared trapped inside the rubble of the collapsed structure. Search and rescue operations are still underway at the site. Maharashtra Ministers Aditi Tatkare and Eknath Shinde had rushed to the spot on Monday evening to take stock of the rescue operations. 

Raigad District Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar had told reporters that a man died of cardiac arrest on Monday night after he was hit by a stone from the falling building.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed his sadness at a building collapse in Raigad in Maharashtra and said local authorities and NDRF teams are providing all possible assistance at the site.

“Saddened by the building collapse in Mahad, Raigad in Maharashtra. My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their dear ones. I pray the injured recover soon. Local authorities and NDRF teams are at the site of the tragedy, providing all possible assistance,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted quoting PM Modi.

An official at the Mantralaya State Control Room of the State Disaster Management Unit said the Tarek Garden building collapsed at Kajalpura in Mahad tehsil around 7 pm.

The building was constructed around 5-6 years ago and there were around 40 flats in the building. There were around 40 flats in the building, the official said, adding those rescued were shifted to a local hospital at Mahad, which is around 170 km from Mumbai.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also spoke to the district officials and asked them to expedite the rescue and relief work, another official said. 

As the building began to collapse, around 70 people in the building ran out and managed to save their lives, the official said. “We also came to know that many families are not residing in the building as they went to their native places due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown,” she said.

Three teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are at the spot for rescue operations. Canine squads have also been deployed at the scene of the collapse, an official said.