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Mumbai: A tragic incident in Maharashtra's Palghar district has left an entire community devastated after a portion of a four-storey building collapsed in Virar, killing 15 people, including a mother and her young daughter who had just finished celebrating birthday. The collapse occurred shortly after midnight on August 27, when the rear section of the 13-year-old Ramabai Apartment in Vijay Nagar crumbled without warning. Among the victims were 24-year-old Aarohi Joyal and her one-year-old daughter, Utkarsha, who had been cutting a birthday cake minutes earlier with family. Their father, Omkar Joyal, remains missing as rescue teams continue their search. Heartbreaking images from the family's final moments show the home decorated with balloons and lights, the couple smiling with their child as they celebrated, unaware of the impending disaster. Rescue and clearance operations, led by the National Disaster Response Force and the Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation's fire department, have been ongoing for over 30 hours. Officials said the congested location initially slowed the deployment of heavy machinery, forcing rescuers to work manually before larger equipment could be brought in. So far, fifteen people have been confirmed dead, with six others still receiving treatment for serious injuries and three discharged after medical care. Authorities fear more victims may remain trapped beneath the debris. The building, constructed in 2012 and housing 50 flats, was confirmed to be an unauthorised structure. The collapse not only destroyed 12 flats but also caused debris to fall onto a nearby tenement, which fortunately was vacant, preventing further casualties. The Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation has filed a complaint, leading to the arrest of the building's developer. Officials have since evacuated nearby buildings as a precaution, with displaced families temporarily relocated to Chandansar Samajmandir, where food, water, and medical assistance are being provided.
Palghar, Maharashtra: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, has intensified its probe into the multi-crore Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) construction scam, conducting a major search operation across 12 locations in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, and Satara on July 29, 2025. The raids were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with the case involving Jayesh Mehta and others, including senior VVCMC officials. The searches led to the seizure of ₹1.33 crore in cash and a large cache of incriminating documents and digital e ...Read More >
Mumbai, Aug 28 (SocialNews.XYZ) The death toll in the Virar building collapse in Maharashtra has risen to 17, officials confirmed on Thursday, as search and rescue efforts entered the second day. The tragic incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday when the rear portion of the Ramabai Apartment building suddenly caved in at around 12.05 A.M., trapping several residents under the rubble. President Droupadi Murmu expressed sorrow over the loss of lives, stating, "The collapse of a building in Virar, Maharashtra, resulting in the death of several people, is extremely tragic. I express m ...Read More >
Among the worst hit are eight districts of Marathwada region and Solapur in Western Maharashtra which continued to receive heavy rain. While stating that the next two days are crucial following IMD's warning of heavy rains, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday directed the district administration to leave no stone unturned to provide necessary logistics and help to people in flood-hit areas across Maharashtra. Among the worst hit are eight districts of Marathwada region and Solapur in Wes ...Read More >
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has deployed 18 teams across Maharashtra for rapid rescue and relief operations, as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted above-normal monsoon rainfall this year, with urban areas like Mumbai already showing signs of strain, Mid-day reported. Between May 25 and 26, NDRF teams responded to emergencies in Pune, Solapur, and Satara. While local agencies managed to rescue nine people in Baramati and Indapur, NDRF teams were redirected to Phaltan in Satara and Kurubavi in Solapur. In Solapur, a team carried out a midnight rescue operati ...Read More >
New Delhi: The country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki has announced the rollout of its first made-in-India electric vehicle - the e-Vitara SUV - in a major boost to the green segment from its upgraded Gujarat plant, which is now set to become one of the world's largest automotive manufacturing hubs with a projected annual capacity of one million units. Crucially, this facility will serve as Suzuki's global production base for electric vehicles (EVs), exporting to over 100 countries, including advanced markets in Japan and Europe, which is aligned with India's vision of becoming a global aut ...Read More >
New Delhi, Sep 3 (PTI) The NHRC on Wednesday said it has issued notices to the Maharashtra government and the state's police chief over the collapse of a four-storey apartment building in Palghar district last month, in which 17 people died. Reportedly, the building was unauthorised and constructed more than a decade ago, it said. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in a statement, said it has "taken suo motu cognisance of a media report that 17 people died and eight were injured when a portion of a four-storey apartment collapsed in the Virar East area of Palghar district, Maharash ...Read More >
Mumbai: Upset by the city police's alleged pressure to remove loudspeakers from mosques, some mosques in the city have found a solution through the introduction of a dedicated mobile Azaan app to relay call to prayers five times a day, directly to the worshippers.Globally, Muslim citizens, including those in the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE, use Azaan apps to get notification for Azaan time for the masjid located in specific areas.Developed by a group of volunteers in Tamil Nadu , the online azaan app has been in use in TN for over three years. "Most people go out to work and their place o ...Read More >
Incessant rains pounded several parts of Marathwada, cutting off villages and inundating low-lying roads and bridges in the traditionally drought-prone region, officials earlier said A man has been swept away in the swollen Ulhas river following heavy rains in Maharashtra's Thane district, officials said on Sunday (September 28, 2025). The heavy showers in Thane, which received more than 100 mm of rain in the last 24 hours, and in neighbouring Palghar district caused waterlogging at several pla ...Read More >
Mumbai: The number of people who died in the building collapse in Virar, located in Maharashtra's Palghar district, has increased to 17 after more bodies were found overnight, officials said on Thursday. Chief Minister Fadnavis announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. The building, called Ramabai Apartment, was an illegal four-storey structure with around 50 flats. It collapsed on a nearby empty tenement at Vijay Nagar in Virar around 12:05 AM on Wednesday. According to people who saw the incident, a one-year-old girl's birthday was being celebrated on the fourth ...Read More >
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth Rs 71 crore in connection with a major scam linked to illegal construction in the Vasai-Virar belt, part of which, Rs 44 crore, belongs to IAS officer Anil Pawar, reported TOI. The investigation revolves around 41 unauthorised buildings, which the Bombay High Court had ordered demolished. Central to the case is Bharti Pawar, wife of Anil Pawar, who has been named by the ED for allegedly fronting a portion of the scam worth Rs 169.6 c ...Read More >
Shillong, June 7 (SocialNews.XYZ) Even as the hectic search for the missing Madhya Pradesh woman continued for over two weeks on Saturday, Meghalaya's lone BJP Minister, Alexander Laloo Hek has supported the families' demand for a CBI probe into the death of Raja Raghuvanshi, whose wife Sonam is still missing. The decomposed body of Sonam's husband Raja Raghuvanshi was recovered on June 2. The couple from Indoor in Madhya Pradesh went missing on May 23 while visiting Meghalaya's Sohra-Cherrapunji areas, a tourism hotspot in the northeastern region. On Saturday, the Minister said that the CB ...Read More >
Mumbai, Aug 28 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday expressed grief over the death of 17 persons in a building collapse at Virar in Palghar district and announced an assistance of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased. The building, which was allegedly unauthorised and housed nearly 50 flats, collapsed on an adjacent vacant tenement at Vijay Nagar in Virar area of Palghar, adjoining Mumbai, at 12.05 am on Wednesday, according to officials. A one-year-old girl's birthday party was underway on the fourth floor when 12 flats in a wing of the building collapsed, trapping ...Read More >