Building collapse in Pune leaves five dead

A tragedy was averted as a five-story building evacuated by residents on Thursday afternoon after it developed cracks collapsed hours later. The building located in Bhumkar Mala locality in Ambegaon Narhe village at Pune outskirts crashed in the wee hours of Friday.

The person Sandip Mohite, 29, who is trapped under the debris in the Pune Building collapse, is inside a car which he had gone to drive out from the parking.

Since the collapse of building his family members, rescue workers and health experts have been speaking to him over his mobile phone which went ‘out of reach’ at about 11 am most probably due to battery draining out of power.

“We have spoken to him over phone and have advised him about dos and don’ts in a situation like this. He’s under the debris for over 8 hours now but the nature of debris must be allowing him to breath property,” said a doctor working with the Haveli government health care center who rushed to the spot.

Dilip Mohite, the father of the trapped boy told Express, “We returned home late on Thursday night to find out that all others had vacated. We also took out our valuables. At about 3 am, I sent Sandip in again to fetch our car which was parked in the parking lot of the building when it collapsed.”

According to our reporters at the site, those staying in the locality say that the building, Pitambar Complex, was constructed about a year back but the builder had left it incomplete. The building had 20 flats on five floors out of which 9 flats were occupied. One room was occupied by the watchman who was staying with his family.

“The residents have been noticing cracks in the building for quite some time now. On Thursday, the building had tilted leading to panic among the occupants. All the residents then decided to vacate the apartments. The builder has been detained by Bharati Vidyapeeth Police Station and is being questioned. Those who received minor injuries have been hospitalised in Navale Hospital. The village Amegaon Narhe and adjoining area are notorious for illegal construction activities. The district administration had undertaken multiple drives against the illegal construction in the recent past in the area.