Warning signs ignored? Mumbai building that killed six had begun tilting hours before collapse

Hours before the illegal four-storey structure collapsed onto adjoining shanties in Mumbai’s Mankhurd on Sunday night, killing six people, including a woman and her four children, it had begun tilting, prompting the three families living inside to evacuate. Residents said the evacuation averted an even bigger tragedy.

The building, which also housed a furniture godown, had started tilting and its tiles had begun crumbling on Sunday morning, according to local residents. While the godown had been shut weeks earlier, the three families living in the building vacated it the same day after neighbours noticed signs of distress.

“As the building started collapsing on Sunday morning, we asked the families to vacate the building,” said Ishtiyaq Ahmed, a close family friend and neighbour.

Late on Sunday night, the structure at Chawl No. 5 in Galli No. 7 near Noori Masjid in the Mandala area of Mankhurd came crashing onto adjoining shanties. The collapse claimed the lives of six people, including Akhtar Jahan (38), her four children — Kaisar Jaha (14), Jalaluddin Moinuddin (9), Serajuddin Shah (7) and Anabiya Shah (3) — and Aliya Allauddin Shaikh (6), a child from a neighbouring home who had come over to play.

Recalling the incident, locals and family friends said the collapse triggered panic in the neighbourhood. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

Akhtar Jahan’s husband, Moinuddin Wajid Ali Shah (39), who had stepped out to purchase household items, escaped the mishap by minutes.

Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde, who inspected the site on Monday, said the collapsed structure was “completely illegal”.

“The structure had three storeys constructed one upon another and was completely illegal. It functioned as a godown which was completely stacked with goods. When the building collapsed, the entire goods from the godown came crashing on the neighbouring building where a woman, her children and some kids from the neighbourhood were staying,” said Tawde.

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The Shah family had been residing in the shanty, made of tin sheets and a patra roof, for the past two years.

The collapsed structure stands on suburban collector’s land. However, officials from the Mumbai Collector’s office maintained that no notices had been issued to the structure and that it had been surveyed by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA).

“The structure was illegal and constructed before 2011. However, the government notification states that structures occupied before 2011 cannot be razed without rehabilitation. Accordingly, the encroachment had been surveyed by the SRA while no notices had been served from the collector’s office,” said a source.

Recalling the incident, locals and family friends said the collapse triggered panic in the neighbourhood.

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“There was a huge thud and suddenly everything disappeared as there was dust and rubble all around. At first, it felt like an earthquake,” said Ahmed, who witnessed the collapse while waiting outside his home.

Shabnam Khan, a local resident, said, “We saw Moinuddin screaming and we realised that the family including the children were trapped inside the home. All of us started helping in the rescue and even sustained injuries while trying to help them. It was very difficult to move the debris as there was heavy concrete, angles and heavy rain. By the time we could reach them, they had passed away.”

After being pulled out from the rubble, Akhtar Jahan, her four children and Aliya were taken to Shatabdi and Rajawadi hospitals, where they were declared dead. A passerby, Rehan Ali (24), who was trapped under the debris when the shanties collapsed, sustained grievous injuries. Hospital officials said his condition is now stable.

Ahmed, who taught the children verses from the Quran, remembered them as “bright and vivacious”.

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“Kaisar was the topper of her class at Shivaji Municipal School and all the other children were very bright. All the children were very friendly, never troubled anyone and would always be playing in the area,” said Ahmed.

“The children were also very active at the JVS Sanstha, where they would go for tuition,” recalled another resident.

Following the collapse, the rickety buildings next to the collapsed structure were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

In the aftermath of the incident, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased. Meanwhile, the Mumbai Police arrested two persons and named four people, including government officials and private persons, in an FIR registered on Monday.