• Source:JND
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Virar Building Collapse Updates: The death toll in the building collapse at Virar in Maharashtra's Palghar district rose to 15 amid the rescue operation. The officials said fourteen people, including a mother and daughter, lost their lives, and one person was critically injured. On Wednesday morning, a portion of an unauthorised four-storey building collapsed on an adjoining vacant chawl at Virar, prompting quick action from authorities.

Six people died on the spot under the rubble, while others succumbed to injuries during the treatment in different hospitals in Virar.

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Rescue Operation Still Underway

The officials said that even after 24 hours, rescue operations continued at the site where a rear portion of the Ramabai Apartment caved in at around 12.05 am on Wednesday. Two teams from the 5th Battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were carrying out the operation at the site. There is a possibility that more people could still be trapped beneath the debris, said Palghar District Collector Indu Rani Jakhar. The authorities stated that so far, 17 people have been accounted for -- 14 dead, one injured, and two rescued.

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Builder Of Building Arrested

The builder of the building was arrested after the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) filed a complaint against him. The 'chawl' on which the structure collapsed was vacant during the time of the incident, said District Disaster Management Officer Vivekanand Kadam. He further said that Ramabai Apartment, constructed in 2012, had a total of 50 flats, with the collapsed portion consisting of 12 apartments.

"As of now, debris clearance is still underway. For the first several hours, the debris had to be cleared manually by civic teams and two units of the NDRF. Now, the operation is being carried out with machinery and progressing on a war footing," VVMC Assistant Commissioner Gilson Gonsalves said late on Wednesday.

(With IANS inputs)