A portion of an over-century old, five-storeyed building here collapsed today, fire brigade officials said.
The 'cessed' building, 115-year-old Ray Chambers, near the Dockyard Road railway station in South Mumbai, came down like a pack of cards, they said.
A cessed building in Mumbai is one that was built before 1940. The state has taken it upon itself to see to it that these buildings are repaired and, wherever necessary, reconstructed.
Seven persons have been rescued, they added.
The seven tenants in the building included three senior citizens, who were trapped on the top floor as the front portion of the building caved in, engulfing the area with a thick cloud of dust, the officials said.
Five fire engines, two water tankers and an ambulance were rushed to the spot.
The dilapidated building, comprising 63 residential rooms and 15 commercial establishments, was vacated yesterday after it developed cracks, said Arvind Joshi, executive engineer of Repairs and Reconstruction, Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada).
"However, some tenants were unwilling to leave the place and had returned to their homes," he said. A portion of the structure collapsed while debris removal operation was underway, he said. Eighteen dogs have also been rescued from the building, he added.
There were complaints from some residents of the building that illegal construction and internal modification work was being carried out by some tenants, the official said.
The building, a load-bearing structure, was not designed to accommodate large-scale modifications, he added.
