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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 dead after a five-story residential building collapsed early Friday morning, the fifth deadly collapse this year in and around Mumbai, a city with crumbling housing infrastructure and poor building norms. At least four people were confirmed dead. | MUMBAI, India — Scores of people may be trapped or dead after a five-story residential building collapsed early Friday morning, the fifth deadly collapse this year in and around Mumbai, a city with crumbling housing infrastructure and poor building norms. At least four people were confirmed dead. |
| The scene Friday was a chaotic pile of broken steel and concrete rubble, with more than two dozen fire trucks and at least 15 ambulances on the streets. | The scene Friday was a chaotic pile of broken steel and concrete rubble, with more than two dozen fire trucks and at least 15 ambulances on the streets. |
| 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 structure, the Babu Genu Market building. 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 was about 30 years old, officials said. | 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 structure, the Babu Genu Market building. 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 was about 30 years old, officials said. |
| “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 dangerous overcrowding in many buildings in Mumbai. | 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 dangerous overcrowding in many buildings in Mumbai. |
| “There were many people in that building whom I was friends with,” Mr. Gupta said. “We often played cricket together on this street. 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,” Mr. Gupta said. “We often played cricket together on this street. 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 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 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 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 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 neighbors crowded around the site of the collapse Friday in the kind of chaotic scramble that is routine after such disasters in India. Police officials tried to clear the area of bystanders. Neighbors watched from balconies and terraces overlooking the spot of the collapse. | Hundreds of police officers, firefighters, dockyard workers and neighbors crowded around the site of the collapse Friday in the kind of chaotic scramble that is routine after such disasters in India. Police officials tried to clear the area of bystanders. Neighbors watched from balconies and terraces overlooking the spot of the collapse. |
| Dr. Habbu Jadav, the superintendent of J.J. Hospital nearby, said 17 people had been brought in with injuries as of 11:45 a.m. and that there were four deaths, with many more people in critical condition. Family members surrounded hospital officials asking if their relatives were among the dead or injured. One of them, Pankaj Lokhande, said he learned that his close friends, the Chawda family, were found in the rubble. A mother and her two children were dead, while the family’s father, a retired city official, survived because he was already hospitalized with a critical illness, he said. | Dr. Habbu Jadav, the superintendent of J.J. Hospital nearby, said 17 people had been brought in with injuries as of 11:45 a.m. and that there were four deaths, with many more people in critical condition. Family members surrounded hospital officials asking if their relatives were among the dead or injured. One of them, Pankaj Lokhande, said he learned that his close friends, the Chawda family, were found in the rubble. A mother and her two children were dead, while the family’s father, a retired city official, survived because he was already hospitalized with a critical illness, he said. |
| “The Chawda family lived on the fourth floor of the building, but they were found on the ground floor under slabs of concrete,” Mr. Lokhande said. | “The Chawda family lived on the fourth floor of the building, but they were found on the ground floor under slabs of concrete,” Mr. Lokhande said. |
| In April, an illegally constructed building in a Mumbai suburb collapsed and killed 74 people, the deadliest such episode in decades. Two more episodes followed in June, killing 19 people together. In July, the Bhiwandi garment factory collapsed, killing six people. There have been other collapses in India, including a hospital in Bhopal in April. | In April, an illegally constructed building in a Mumbai suburb collapsed and killed 74 people, the deadliest such episode in decades. Two more episodes followed in June, killing 19 people together. In July, the Bhiwandi garment factory collapsed, killing six people. There have been other collapses in India, including a hospital in Bhopal in April. |
| The collapses highlight problems with India’s housing stock and construction standards. Many of the structures that dot Mumbai’s skyline are crumbling and date to the country’s independence, when they were hurriedly built as part of the city’s emergence as a commercial hub. | The collapses highlight problems with India’s housing stock and construction standards. Many of the structures that dot Mumbai’s skyline are crumbling and date to the country’s independence, when they were hurriedly built as part of the city’s emergence as a commercial hub. |
| Mumbai’s buildings department is known as being 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 allow tenants to live in apartments for a few dollars a month and even pass those rights to their descendants, giving landlords little incentive 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 known as being 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 allow tenants to live in apartments for a few dollars a month and even pass those rights to their descendants, giving landlords little incentive 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 high land prices, which encourage quick building projects. But even routine and approved construction practices are suspect. India is one of the only countries in the world where buildings as tall as six stories are constructed using a small-batch process of mixing concrete by hand, rather than having trucks deliver 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 high land prices, which encourage quick building projects. But even routine and approved construction practices are suspect. India is one of the only countries in the world where buildings as tall as six stories are constructed using a small-batch process of mixing concrete by hand, rather than having trucks deliver premixed concrete. |
| The quality of the concrete used in these structures depends on how well the man standing at the concrete drum mixes the sand, gravel, cement and water. 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 on how well the man standing at the concrete drum mixes the sand, gravel, cement and water. 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 also because few other places can find workers willing to carry loads of concrete by hand 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 also because few other places can find workers willing to carry loads of concrete by hand 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 at the rescue operation. “There are five of my relatives in that building,” she said. “They are still trapped inside.” | Sheetal Shinde stood at a nearby tea stall with tears in her eyes looking at the rescue operation. “There are five of my relatives in that building,” she said. “They are still trapped inside.” |
Neha Thirani Bagri reported from Mumbai and Gardiner Harris from New Delhi. |