Two-year-old child among six people killed as slab of Saptashrungi building collapses in Maharashtra's Kalyan

Six persons, including four women and a two-year-old child, were killed and four others were injured after a slab of the top floor of a four-storey building in Kalyan collapsed on the lower floors on Tuesday afternoon, officials said.

The slab of the fourth floor caved in around 2:15 PM, and the debris crashed through the lower floors of the Saptashrungi Building located in Mangalaragho Nagar area in Kalyan East.

"The slab from the fourth floor had collapsed to the ground floor," said a senior police inspector.

The deceased were identified as Namaswi Shrikant Shelar (2), Pramila Kalcharan Sahu (56), Sunita Neelanchal Sahu (38), Sushila Narayan Gujar (78), Venkat Bhima Chavan (42) and Sujata Manoj Wadi (38).

Four people were injured in the incident, including two children aged four, who were admitted to different hospitals.

Emergency response teams from the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation's Fire Department and the TDRF (Thane Disaster Response Force) are actively engaged in clearing the debris and searching for any additional victims.

"Rescue operations are underway with full force. The building has been cordoned off, and structural safety checks will follow once the immediate rescue work is complete," the police officer added.

Police have registered a case and are investigating the cause of the collapse.

“The incident took place in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation area, specifically in Kalyan East at the Saptashrungi Cooperative Society. A section of the building's slab in a garden area collapsed slightly around 2:00 to 2:30 PM. As a result, 12 people got trapped. Since then, the Municipal Corporation, local administration, disaster management department, social service organizations, public representatives, and respected Madam Sajjan have all been present on site. Rescue operations have been ongoing since the incident. Twelve people were rescued, out of which, as per preliminary information, six casualties have been reported. The injured were taken to the hospital, and doctors are currently attending to them. Six others are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the city. Rescue work is still underway,” KDMC Commissioner Abhinav Goel said.

In response to whether the building was declared dangerous or if any notice had been issued, Goel clarified that it was not officially classified as hazardous.

However, as part of the Municipal Corporation's pre-monsoon survey activities, notices were issued to residents, advising them to conduct structural audits of their buildings. Such notices are being sent to all buildings as a precautionary measure.