8 dead, many trapped in residential building collapse in Mumbai's Ghatkopar

It appeared like a loud explosion and immediately there was total confusion as the Sai Darshan building at Damodar Park in Ghatkopar crashed within seconds. 

Immediately, people ran helter-skelter, here and there and they saw dust from the rubble to realise that the ground plus four-storeyed building has caved in like a pack of cards. 

A Ghatkopar resident, Amit Patel, who was passing by, felt shocks and saw the structure getting vanished. "I pass by this area regularly. Today also it was around that area when I heard a loud explosion and then saw the building coming on ground in a flash of a second and then the dust of rubbles," said Patel. 

A resident of the building, Reeta Doshi and her son were lucky to escape the crash as she had just stepped out of the building for temple. "My son dropped me in his bike to the temple," she said, however, her husband, Raju Doshi, is trapped. "We are not getting any information whatsoever," she said, breaking down. 

Like Reeta Doshi and her son, another occupant, Rajesh Diroya was lucky, but not tis family. "My mother, brother and sister-in-law are trapped. We lived on the third floor. I left for



work at and came to know and rushed here," says Rajesh, who was anxiously waiting even as rescue operations were underway. 

Lalit Updhayaya was seen running helter skelter and running between Shantiniketan Hospital and Rajawadi Hospital. "My sister, her husband and kid stay in the second floor of the building," he said, adding that as of now, he has not been able to get any information. "As soon as I came to know about the crash, I rushed here...I did couple of rounds of the two hospitals, but could not find them in the list of dead or injured...they are possibly trapped," he said.

"My sister, daughter and her 5-month-old granddaughter are trapped," said Krishna Rao, adding that he is trying to find out what happened to them. 

Like Lalit there are several other relatives of the other flat members - around a dozen of them - who were seen camping near the site and keeping their fingers crossed. 

"For quite some time, some work was going on at the nursing home on the ground floor. That is the main reason for the incident as it appears that illegal alterations were being carried out," added a local resident, Satish Joshi, who claim to stay nearby.