A 10-year-old ground-plus-three-storey building collapsed in a heap around 1pm on Saturday in Vardhman Compound in Valpada village in rural parts of Bhiwandi in Thane. The building housed godowns on the ground and first floor and four families in tenements on the top floor. 22 residents were believed to be trapped in the debris out of which, 10 injured are being treated at Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Bhiwandi. Eight people died in the incident. The residents were rescued with the help of the Thane Disaster Response Force personnel  National Disaster Response Force personnel. The rescue operation was called off after more than 45 hours of the incident. On Saturday night, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde visited the IGM hospital after visiting the incident site, where he met with the injured. The CM also announced ₹5 lakh assistance to each of the kin of the deceased. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi also announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF to the heir of the deceased and the injured would be given Rs. 50,000.


A major fire broke out at a commercial complex in Maharashtra`s Thane city on the night of Tuesday, April 18th. Officials said it was brought under control after 10 hours on Wednesday morning. At least 15 vehicles parked in the building were charred and many offices were destroyed. There was no report of any casualty. The cause of the fire is under investigation.