11 killed in Bhiwandi building collapse; Rs 5 lakh compensation announced

Thane: At least 11 people lost their lives after a building collapsed at Bhiwandi in this Maharashtra's district early on Monday morning, police said. 

Meanwhile, 13 persons trapped under the debris have been rescued and some of them sent for treatment, said Thane Guardian Minister Eknath Shinde as he rushed to the site within hours of the infrastructural mishap.

Talking to mediapersons,  Minister Shinde also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased, adding that a probe will be initiated too.

Overseeing the NDRF's ongoing rescue operations, he mentioned that a total of 102 dangerous buildings in the powerloom town of Bhiwandi have already been evacuated. 

Based on the complaint of civic officials, offenses under relevant IPC sections have been filed against the building's ownner Sayyed Ahmed Jilani, told Bhiwandi DCP Rajkumar Shinde.

Bhiwandi-Nijampur Municipal Corporation chief Pankaj Ashiya said that the doomed building needed repairs however the work could not be carried out owing to the COVID-19 crisis.(UNI)