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| Scores Feared Trapped in Collapse of Mumbai Building | Scores Feared Trapped in Collapse of Mumbai Building |
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| MUMBAI, India — Scores of people may be trapped or feared dead following the collapse of a five-story residential building early Friday morning, the fifth such collapse this year in and around Mumbai. At least four people were confirmed dead. | |
| The scene of the disaster was a chaotic pile of broken steel and concrete rubble, with more than two dozen fire trucks and at least 15 ambulances lining the streets nearby. | |
| The authorities said it was too early to determine the exact cause of the collapse or the number of people trapped or dead inside the building, which was called the Babu Genu Market building. But onlookers said the building had more than 100 residents, nearly all of whom were likely home when the structure fell early in the day. | |
| “The building collapsed suddenly at 6 a.m. this morning,” said Tanaji Ghodge, a deputy police commissioner. “We don’t know how many people will come out of the rubble yet. The rescue operation is going on in full force.” | “The building collapsed suddenly at 6 a.m. this morning,” said Tanaji Ghodge, a deputy police commissioner. “We don’t know how many people will come out of the rubble yet. The rescue operation is going on in full force.” |
| Babu Gupta, a sound engineer who lives next door, said the building had about 24 occupied one-room apartments, each with four to eight residents, underscoring the chronic and dangerous overcrowding that afflicts many Mumbai buildings. | |
| “There were many people in that building whom I was friends with. We often played cricket together on this street,” Mr. Gupta said. “There is Parmar, there is Jadhav, there are so many others. There must be at least 15 of my friends in that building. There is no news of them yet.” | “There were many people in that building whom I was friends with. We often played cricket together on this street,” Mr. Gupta said. “There is Parmar, there is Jadhav, there are so many others. There must be at least 15 of my friends in that building. There is no news of them yet.” |
| Murli Khadpekar, a neighbor, said he heard a “loud bang” at precisely 5:53 a.m. and came running out to see that the Babu Genu Market building’s huge rooftop water tank had come crashing down, and that the building itself had collapsed. The building was mostly occupied by city trash collectors and laborers, he said. | Murli Khadpekar, a neighbor, said he heard a “loud bang” at precisely 5:53 a.m. and came running out to see that the Babu Genu Market building’s huge rooftop water tank had come crashing down, and that the building itself had collapsed. The building was mostly occupied by city trash collectors and laborers, he said. |
| “The municipal corporation has given two notices to repair the building as it was not safe, but they did not do anything about it,” Mr. Khadpekar said, referring to Mumbai’s city government. | “The municipal corporation has given two notices to repair the building as it was not safe, but they did not do anything about it,” Mr. Khadpekar said, referring to Mumbai’s city government. |
| Hundreds of police officers, firefighters, dockyard workers and concerned neighbors crowded the site of the collapse Friday morning in the kind of chaotic scramble that is routine in the wake of such disasters in India. Police officials talked hurriedly into walkie-talkies as they coordinated rescue efforts and tried to clear the area of bystanders. Residents of adjacent buildings stood on balconies and terraces overlooking the spot of the collapse and gawked. At a nearby tea stall, firefighters and police officers drank tea and talked as officials tried to figure out their next steps. | Hundreds of police officers, firefighters, dockyard workers and concerned neighbors crowded the site of the collapse Friday morning in the kind of chaotic scramble that is routine in the wake of such disasters in India. Police officials talked hurriedly into walkie-talkies as they coordinated rescue efforts and tried to clear the area of bystanders. Residents of adjacent buildings stood on balconies and terraces overlooking the spot of the collapse and gawked. At a nearby tea stall, firefighters and police officers drank tea and talked as officials tried to figure out their next steps. |
| Dr. Habbu Jadav, the superintendent of the nearby J.J. hospital, said that 17 injured people had been brought to the hospital as of 11:45 a.m. and that there were four confirmed deaths, with many more in critical condition. | |
| In April, an illegally constructed building in a Mumbai suburb collapsed and killed 74 people, the deadliest such incident in decades. Two more collapses followed in June, killing 19 people together. In July, the Bhiwandi garment factory collapsed, killing six more. And there have been other collapses in India, including that of a hospital in Bhopal in April. | In April, an illegally constructed building in a Mumbai suburb collapsed and killed 74 people, the deadliest such incident in decades. Two more collapses followed in June, killing 19 people together. In July, the Bhiwandi garment factory collapsed, killing six more. And there have been other collapses in India, including that of a hospital in Bhopal in April. |
| The collapses highlight myriad problems with India’s housing stock and construction standards. Many of the structures that dot Mumbai’s skyline are crumbling edifices that date back to the country’s independence, when they were hurriedly built as part of the city’s emergence as the newborn country’s commercial hub. | The collapses highlight myriad problems with India’s housing stock and construction standards. Many of the structures that dot Mumbai’s skyline are crumbling edifices that date back to the country’s independence, when they were hurriedly built as part of the city’s emergence as the newborn country’s commercial hub. |
| Mumbai’s buildings department is famously corrupt, and bribing inspectors and other government officials is considered part of the normal cost of doing business. One result is that many buildings are visibly crumbling. Another problem is rent control rules that give landlords few incentives to invest in building maintenance. The city requires extensive approvals for even minor repairs, a process so cumbersome that repairs are often either delayed or done illegally and without the advice of engineers. | Mumbai’s buildings department is famously corrupt, and bribing inspectors and other government officials is considered part of the normal cost of doing business. One result is that many buildings are visibly crumbling. Another problem is rent control rules that give landlords few incentives to invest in building maintenance. The city requires extensive approvals for even minor repairs, a process so cumbersome that repairs are often either delayed or done illegally and without the advice of engineers. |
| Much of Mumbai’s new construction is shoddy and dangerous as well. Part of the reason is the city’s endemic corruption and sky-high land prices, which encourage quick building projects. But even routine and approved construction practices are suspect. In just one example, India is one of the only countries in the world where buildings as tall as six stories are constructed using an on-site, small-batch process of hand-mixed concrete instead of cement trucks carrying commercially-made premixed concrete. | Much of Mumbai’s new construction is shoddy and dangerous as well. Part of the reason is the city’s endemic corruption and sky-high land prices, which encourage quick building projects. But even routine and approved construction practices are suspect. In just one example, India is one of the only countries in the world where buildings as tall as six stories are constructed using an on-site, small-batch process of hand-mixed concrete instead of cement trucks carrying commercially-made premixed concrete. |
| The quality of the concrete used in these structures depends entirely on how well the man standing at the concrete drum mixes the sand, gravel, cement and water. Inevitably, some batches are poor, and that leads to structural weaknesses that worsen soon after construction is completed. | The quality of the concrete used in these structures depends entirely on how well the man standing at the concrete drum mixes the sand, gravel, cement and water. Inevitably, some batches are poor, and that leads to structural weaknesses that worsen soon after construction is completed. |
| In most of the world, structures more than two stories high require premixed concrete not only because of government rules but because few other places can find workers willing to hand-carry loads of concrete up more than one or two flights of stairs. In India and Bangladesh, workers routinely carry such loads up five or more flights. | In most of the world, structures more than two stories high require premixed concrete not only because of government rules but because few other places can find workers willing to hand-carry loads of concrete up more than one or two flights of stairs. In India and Bangladesh, workers routinely carry such loads up five or more flights. |
| Sheetal Shinde stood at a nearby tea stall with tears in her eyes looking anxiously at the rescue operation. “There are five of my relatives in that building,” she said grimly. “They are still trapped inside.” |