Thane building collapse kills 12-year-old boy, injures two family members
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
A 12-year-old boy died and two of his family members were injured on Friday, 11 July after a section of a neighbouring structure collapsed onto their home in Madras Chawl, Azad Nagar, Brahmand, in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials confirmed. The incident is the second fatal building collapse in the Mumbai metropolitan region within a week.
How the Collapse Unfolded
The incident occurred at approximately 3:35 pm when a portion of the gallery of an adjacent ground-plus-one-storey building — estimated to be 25 to 30 years old — suddenly gave way and crashed onto the adjoining house, where members of the Jaiswal family were asleep at the time.
The deceased has been identified as Jaykumar Jaiswal, 12. He sustained critical injuries in the collapse and was rushed to the Civil Hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Injured Family Members
Two other members of the family — Urmila Jaiswal, 35, and Vinit Jaiswal, 9 — suffered head injuries in the incident. Both were admitted to Titan Hospital in Manpada, where they are currently undergoing treatment and are being closely monitored by medical staff.
Emergency Response and Evacuation
Emergency teams reached the site shortly after receiving information about the collapse. The rescue operation deployed two fire engines, a rescue vehicle, a disaster management utility vehicle, and an ambulance. As a precautionary measure, authorities evacuated three neighbouring houses in Madras Chawl to prevent further casualties.
Structural inspections and debris-clearing operations are being jointly conducted by the Majiwada Ward Committee, the Public Works Department (PWD), and the Encroachment Department to assess the safety of nearby structures.
Second Deadly Collapse in the Region This Week
This incident comes just days after a similarly devastating collapse in Mumbai. On 7 July, six people were killed and one person was injured when a neighbouring structure collapsed onto a home in Janata Nagar, Mankhurd. The victims belonged to the family of Akhtar Jahan and her husband, labourer Moinuddin Wajid Ali Shah.
According to local residents, that family had grown increasingly alarmed over the deteriorating condition of the adjoining building and had planned to relocate the following Sunday — but the structure gave way during a spell of heavy rain before they could move.
The back-to-back tragedies have renewed scrutiny over the condition of ageing residential structures in the Mumbai metropolitan region, particularly as the monsoon season intensifies. Authorities are expected to widen structural safety audits in the coming days.