Infant among 2 killed as building collapses in Thane

An infant and a woman were killed and five others injured when a residential building, declared as dilapidated and dangerous by authorities earlier, collapsed in Maharashtra's Thane district shortly after midnight on Sunday, civic officials said.

The ground plus one-storey structure having six flats and located on Durga Road in Dhobi Talao area of Bhiwandi town collapsed at 12.35 am, Thane Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Yasin Tadvi said.

After being alerted, a team of the Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF) and fire personnel from the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation rushed to the spot.

A search operation was carried out in the night and seven persons were pulled out from the debris. An eight-month-old girl and a woman died while five others were injured, the official said.

The deceased have been identified as Uzma Atif Momin (40) and Taslima Mosar Momin (8 months), he said.

Among the injured were four women and a man aged 65. They were admitted to a local hospital and were reported to be out of danger, he said.

The search and rescue operation and work to clear the debris was completed at around 3.30 am, the official said.

Officials said the building was 35 years old and listed as dangerous and classified under C-1 category, which means it was a dilapidated structure that needed to be vacated immediately for demolition.

The civic corporation had already issued notice to the building owners, they said.