4 rooms of Thane Chawl collapse, residents evacuated, none injured

THANE: Six rooms of a two-storey chawl partially collapsed Saturday morning following which nearby structures were evacuated as a precautionary measure, officials informed. Luckily, no one was hurt in the incident.
The incident was reported around 10 am when four rooms on the first floor of the Om Sai chawl located along the hillock in the Dongripada area along Ghodbunder Road suddenly developed cracks and collapsed on two rooms on the ground floor, informed Yasin Tadvi, in-charge at the disaster management cell.Two of the rooms were unoccupied and residents from the other rooms rushed out hearing the noise before the remaining portion of the structure collapsed.
The chawl had ten rooms with five rooms on the ground and the rest on the first floor. Even though six rooms were damaged, the remaining four rooms were in dangerous condition following which the authorities decided to evacuate them.
Local residents claimed that dredging work at a nearby drain was going which may have loosened the soil under the structure leading it to partially collapse.
A detailed investigation in the incident will be conducted, informed officials.