5 Killed, Many Trapped As Poonam Chambers Collapses In Worli

Many people had a miraculous escape when part of a commercial complex in south Mumbai caved in yesterday at around 3 pm.

Poonam Chambers in Worli, south Mumbai houses the offices of more than 16 companies including Wockhardt Ltd, Cable Corporation of India, NABARD, AK Industries, Anchor, US Vitamins and Esab Finance.

At the time of going to press, five bodies had been recovered from the debris. Fire brigade officials said around 20 people could still be trapped inside the debris.

Of the 28 people rescued, ten have been admitted with severe injuries, eight were sent home after first aid and the remaining ten escaped unhurt. The injured have been admitted to JJ Hospital, Poddar Hospital and KEM Hospital.

As the collapse occurred after lunch hour, more than 700 people were in the complex. While the skeleton of the seven-storied B wing of Poonam Chambers is still in place, eye witnesses say that the roof collapsed, bringing down the entire left portion and the backside of the building.

Most people rushed out when they heard a rumbling noise, thinking it was an earthquake. Minor vibrations were experienced in the morning and afternoon.

A two member committee has been constituted by the municipal commissioner to probe into the cause of the collapse. Police officials ruled out sabotage.

However, they are investigating the reasons behind the collapse.

An eye-witness, Vilas Mhapre, who is the manager of the A wing society, said that the building was about 25 years old and their society had carried out repairs to their wing. In absence of a society, the B wing had been neglected, he said.

Some people said that a water tank had been constructed at the top recently and it is possible that the roof could not take the weight of the tank.

Chief Minister Manohar Joshi, deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde and mayor Vishakha Raut visited the site.

Top officials of the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Fire Brigade and the Bombay police were present at the site. However, the compensation to be paid to the injured has not been announced as yet.

Wockhardt officials said that around 100 people were in the office at that time and except for some minor injuries, all are safe.

Mistry of AK Industries, which is situated on the seventh floor, said around fifty of us were in the office at that time and almost all managed to escape through the staircase. Two people are still missing.

NABARD occupies two floors in the building. Its personnel said they had time to escape as the rumbling alerted them. An employee at Esab Finance, which is situated on the third floor, said There was a sea of people running out of the building. All 50 of us managed to escape in time.

Gunwant Seth, who was passing by when the collapse happened, said I heard a noise like bursting of crackers and thought it was a part of the Ganapati celebrations.