4 injured as old residential structure collapses in Pune

Pune: Four people were injured, including two critically, after a portion of a dilapidated residential structure collapsed in Maharashtra’s Pune city following heavy rains, fire brigade officials said on Tuesday.

The dilapidated “wada”—cluster of houses with many rooms—collapsed around Monday midnight in Nana Peth area of Pune.

Fire brigade personnel, who received a call around midnight that four people were trapped under the debris of the collapsed structure rescued four people, two of whom were critically injured and taken to a nearby hospital, the official said.

The Pune Municipal Corporation had earlier issued notices to 478 wadas which were in a dangerous condition. Out of these, 28 were also demolished by the PMC, according to a civic official.

Meanwhile, at least 16 incidents of trees falling and uprooting were reported in Pune city, Fire Brigade officials said.

Meanwhile, in Thane, there were reports of two walls collapsing, including at a school. However, no injuries were reported.

A part of the protection wall of a school building collapsed on the arterial Ghodbunder Road, the city’s Patlipada area when a tree from an adjoining housing complex fell on it on Tuesday afternoon, a civic official said.

While no one was injured, five two-wheelers parked on the school premises were damaged, Thane Municipal Corporation regional disaster management cell chief Avinash Sawant said.

In another such incident in the city, a portion of a house collapsed in Rabodi area, Sawant said, adding that local firemen and a team of the RDMC rushed to the spot and provided assistance. Occupants of the house were evacuated and shifted to safer accommodation, he added.

Thane received 106.3mm of rainfall in the 24 hours ended 8.30 am Tuesday but no river is flowing above the warning level. Two NDRF teams have been deployed in the district, which is part of the coastal Konkan region.