Section of 'dangerous' building collapses in Thane, 6 people rescued

A portion of a two-storey building, which had been declared 'dangerous', collapsed in Bhiwandi town of Maharashtra's Thane district, civic officials said on Wednesday.

Six persons were rescued from the building after the incident which occurred at around 10 pm on Tuesday, Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation's disaster management cell chief Raju Warlikar told PTI.

The building, located at the Bhandari compound and having 15 tenements, had been declared as dangerous and unfit for occupation, he said.

The owner of the building had been asked to ensure it was vacated, he said.

Some persons came to sleep on its first floor on Tuesday night when the staircase of the second floor collapsed, the official said.

After being alerted, local fire personnel and the disaster management team rushed to the spot.

Bhiwandi civic commissioner Ajay Vaidya monitored the rescue work.

The remaining portion of the staircase was razed after the incident and the work of pulling down the building would be taken up on Wednesday, Warlikar said.

"We have strict instructions to vacate the dangerous buildings before the monsoon and also get them razed. We will do the same in this case also," he said.