Bhiwandi building collapse kills nine, rescue operation on

At least nine people have died after a portion of a four-storey building collapsed late on Thursday night in Bhiwandi, Thane district, Maharashtra. Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Bhiwandi Fire Brigade are searching for more people feared trapped under the debris. The Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation had previously declared the Kohinoor Building in Balaji Nagar 'unsafe'.

According to officials, residents heard loud cracking sounds around 9 pm, and many families evacuated. The 'B' wing of the building collapsed around 11.30 pm while some occupants and workers were still inside. Five workers carrying out repair work and six occupants were reported missing. The Deccan Herald reports that a separate landslide on Ghodbunder Road in Thane on Monday evening caused no casualties, with authorities clearing the debris swiftly.

The bodies have been sent to IGM hospital for identification. Rescue operations, aided by sniffer dogs and JCB excavators, continue. The exact cause of the collapse is not yet known.