The rescue operation of the Babu Genu building, which collapsed on Friday morning, finally ended on Sunday at around 6 am after exactly 72 hours. The collapse left 61 people dead, of which seven were extricated dead and the rest died in hospital, and as many as 30 remain admitted in the state-run JJ Hospital in Byculla. Eight victims were treated and discharged. “We had deployed about 150 men divided into four teams, which worked in shifts round the clock for 72 hours non-stop,” said Alok Awasthy, commandant, National Disaster Response Force. Describing the collapse and difficulties faced in the rescue operation, Mr Awasthy added, “It was a ‘pancake collapse’. The kind of collapse in which the primary structural element fails, resulting in the failure of adjoining structural elements, which in turn causes further structural failure. The only difficulty we faced was the restriction of movement. It was a very congested area, and the rains in the later part of the day also caused some amount of trouble.” Doctors said that most of the injured have suffered from blunt trauma, and will need to remain hospitalised for a few days. “A 32-year-old woman has suffered vascular injury and dislocation of her right hip. Another 20-year-old girl’s face has been mangled. She has a contusion on her lip and the right side of her face. She also has a laceration over her abdomen and a fractured leg. Both of them are in the critical care unit,” said Dr H.H. Jadhav, medical superintendent of JJ Hospital. Blaming BMC commissioner Sitaram Kunte for the building collapse in Mazgaon area, Sena spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut said, “Kunte is the agent of Mantralaya (state secretariat). He follows the CM’s directions. If the accused are to be named, then Kunte’s name will be at the top.” Raut alleged a structural audit report had said that the building needed repairs, but the concerned officials did not act on it. Sena and BJP are in power in the BMC.
