MUMBAI/NAVI MUMBAI: Two people lost their lives in two separate slab collapse incidents in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in 24 hours.On Babulnath Road in Walkeshwar, a 51-year-old pedestrian, Santosh Bharaskar, employed at a nearby petrol pump, died after a portion of the third-floor balcony of a ground-plus-three-storey cessed Mhada building, Surya Prakash, crashed on the road late Tuesday.In Kamothe’s Sai Siddhi building in Sector 10, Suresh Lokhande (45) died while his daughter (12) sustained injuries following the collapse of a portion of their first-floor bedroom slab around 6 am on Wednesday while they were asleep. Their neighbours rushed the two to MGM hospital, Kamothe, where Lokhande was declared dead on arrival. A major portion of the slab fell on Lokhande. His daughter is out of danger. His wife did not suffer major injuries.Panvel civic commissioner Mangesh Chitale said, “The 2010 building was not in the Panvel civic body’s list of dilapidated structures. However, the society’s office bearers have been told to conduct a structural audit of the building and submit a report.”Meanwhile, the Walkeshwar incident was reported to the fire brigade at 11.22 pm on Tuesday. Onlookers said a part of the balcony crashed onto the road. The victim was rushed to Sir J J Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. Teams from the fire brigade, police, BEST, the 108 ambulance service, and the ward staff rushed to the spot after the crash. Police and civic authorities are investigating to ascertain the cause of the incident. – Richa Pinto, Umesh K Parida & George Mendonca
