Building Collapses under Mountain of Garbage, All Trapped Employees Rescued Safely
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 8: At least 15 people are feared trapped under the debris of a building that collapsed after a huge mound of garbage crashed into it amid heavy rains in Pimpri Chinchwad in Pune district in Maharashtra on Wednesday afternoon.
The incident triggered a major rescue operation after several people were feared trapped under the debris. The incident took place in the Moshi area, where heavy rainfall led to the collapse of a large mass of accumulated garbage and debris onto an office building, bringing down a concrete slab.
The three-storey building was being used as an administrative office for a private company processing waste on behalf of the city’s civic body. “The administrative building was situated next to a mountain-like pile of legacy waste. Prima facie, it appears that due to heavy rains, the waste mound became loose and collapsed on top of the building,” Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation Commissioner Vijay Suryawanshi said. Most of those trapped are believed to be the employees of the private company who were at work inside the building when the garbage mound struck it.
According to Pimpri-Chinchwad Mayor Ravi Landge, 16 office employees were inside the building having lunch when the slab collapsed. Two people managed to escape on their own, while rescue teams were working to safely evacuate the remaining trapped people. He later said all those trapped were rescued safely and confirmed that no deaths had been reported.
Fire brigade personnel, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, police, and officials from the health and environment departments launched a coordinated rescue operation soon after the incident.
The collapse comes as Maharashtra continues to face an intense spell of monsoon rain. Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have witnessed relentless showers over the past week, resulting in flooding, waterlogging and damage to infrastructure.
More than 6,000 residents have been shifted from flood-prone areas, while schools and colleges remain closed in parts of Pune after the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an Orange Alert warning of continued heavy rainfall. The district has already received more than its average monthly rainfall within the first week of July.
The latest incident adds to a string of rain-related accidents reported across Maharashtra. Just days ago, a three-storey residential building collapsed in Mumbai’s Mankhurd area during heavy rain, killing six people, including five children. With heavy rainfall continuing across the state, authorities remain on high alert as rescue and relief efforts continue in affected areas.
