Nine persons, including four children and three women, were killed and 22 others injured when a residential building collapsed in the powerloom town of Bhiwandi this morning during heavy rains.
The two-storey 35-year-old structure had been declared "dangerous" by the civic authorities.
The building, owned by one Meharunnisa Kadir Hasan, at Gaibi Nagar under Shanti Nagar police station limits in the town, crashed at around 9:30 AM, Bhiwandi Tehsildar Vaishali Lambate said.
A team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) joined the rescue and relief operation, which was hampered by incessant rains throughout the day.
Maharashtra PWD Minister Eknath Shinde, who visited the site, said nine persons were killed in the collapse.
Thane Resident Deputy Collector Vandana Suryavanshi told PTI that 22 people were injured in the incident.
Initially, five persons had died in the incident, but the toll rose after more bodies were pulled out from the debris of the ill-fated structure.
Eight of the deceased were identified as - Shahjahan Khurshid Aalam Ansari (42), her four sons Muddashir Khurshid Aalam Ansari (20), Saif Khurshid Aalam Ansari (17), Khalid Khurshid Aalam Ansari (15) and Shakib Khurshid Aalam Ansari (11), and Aayesha Mobin Ansari (38), Suphiya Shahnavaz Shah (19) and Yehem Ejaz Shah (10).
One of the deceased is yet to be identified.
The building, which was declared "dangerous" had a total of 22 families. It was served a notice by the Bhiwandi Nizampur Municipal Corporation authorities following which 12 families vacated, while the others decided to stay put, an official release said.
Shinde, who is the District Guardian Minister, said notice was served twice but since there was a dispute between the owner and the tenants, some of them did not vacate.
The injured have been admitted to several hospitals in the district. Among the survivors was a seven-month-old child, who was pulled out alive from the debris, officials said.
An emergency meeting was convened by Shinde at Bhiwandi Nizampur civic body's office to discuss the tragedy. District Collector Mahendra Kalyankar and Municipal Commissioner E Ravindran were present at the meeting.
Meanwhile, following the heavy rainfall since early this morning, many low-lying areas were waterlogged in Thane city and surrounding areas.
Twelve tourists, who were stranded at a picnic spot, were rescued by the civic authorities, officials said.
