Rescue operation nears end in India

Only bodies now being found in collapsed building’s rubble, official says; toll at 42

MUMBAI, India - After rescuing 33 people and finding 42 dead, disaster officials said Saturday evening that they did not expect to find any more survivors in the rubble of a five-story building that collapsed early Friday, the third deadly building collapse in Mumbai in the past six months.

“The rescue operation has reached its final stages,” said Alok Awasthi, commandant of the National Disaster Response Force. The last survivor was pulled out at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, he said. “After that, we have been finding only dead bodies.” Still, he vowed that rescuers would continue to search for the missing people. Between 83 and 89 people were in the five-story building when it collapsed, according to residents.

Authorities have begun investigating the possible causes of the 33-year-old building’s cave-in, Awasthi said.

One tenant, Ashok Mehta, was arrested and charged with culpable homicide and endangering the lives of others for changing the building in ways the authorities said might have contributed to its collapse.

“There were some illegal alterations made in the building’s basement that weakened the building considerably,” Awasthi said. “Mumbai’s salty air would have also caused erosion.”

Dr. Habbu Jadav, superintendent of a nearby hospital, said he had not yet lost hope that more survivors would be found. “We are waiting and watching,” he said.

Rudiben Parmar sat with several weeping relatives near the rubble Saturday, waiting for news of the last of five family members who were in the building. Three - a nephew and two of his children - had already been found dead. The nephew’s wife was rescued, but the couple’s young daughter was still unaccounted for Saturday morning.

Parmer said she didn’t know who was to blame for the disaster, but didn’t care about anything but learning of her relatives’ fate.

“We will be OK once all members of our family are recovered,” she said.

Prithviraj Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra state, visited the building site Friday evening andannounced that the state would pay about $1,600 to each family who suffered a loss.

He also promised that those responsible for the tragedy would be punished. Information for this article wascontributed by Neha Thirani Bagri and Gardiner Harris of The New York Times and by Kay Johnson of The Associated Press.

Front Section, Pages 8 on 09/29/2013

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