The death toll in the Bhiwandi building collapse rose to six on Sunday, according to the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The NDRF also stated that rescue efforts are still underway and that ten people have been recused as of now. A young girl was among them who was rescued by the dog squad. A two-story building collapsed in the Bhiwandi area of Maharashtra's Thane district on Saturday afternoon, trapping several people beneath the rubble.
News agency ANI posted a video of the canine squad carrying out the rescue operations.
The caption of the post included the following statement from NDRF Commander Deepak Tiwari: "10 rescued so far, among them, there was a girl child, who was rescued by the dog squad. Our dogs work very well and do canine searches".
"Death toll rises to six in the Bhiwandi building collapse incident in Thane, Maharashtra. Further rescue operations are underway," a Thane Municipal Corporation official said.
Earlier, NDRF and TDRF rescued a man who had been trapped under the collapsed building for more than 20 hours.
OWNER OF THE BUILDING DETAINED:
The owner of the ill-fated Wardhaman Compound in Valpada, Mankoli, has been arrested, news agency PTI reported citing officials. The building, which housed godowns on the ground and first floors and four families on the top floor, collapsed at 1:45 pm on Saturday.
According to Bhiwandi Deputy Commissioner of Police Navnath Dhavle, structure owner Indrapal Patil has been charged with various sections of the Indian Penal Code. Patil has been detained for questioning in connection with the incident, the official said.
According to Thane Municipal Corporation regional disaster management cell chief Avinash Sawant, several people are still believed to be trapped and working on clearing the debris as part of the search and rescue operation led by the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, the fire brigade, and civic teams continues.
IN PICS | Bhiwandi Building Collapse: Death Toll Rises To 4 As Rescue Ops Underway, 14 Rescued So Far
The incident was described as "most unfortunate" by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who visited the collapse site as well as the injured people being treated at Bhiwandi's IGM Hospital late Saturday night.
According to a civic official, the building was about ten years old and could not support the weight of a mobile tower that had recently been installed on top of it.