Overview

• Chawl No. 37, a ground-plus-three-storey building in Bharat Nagar, Bandra East, gave way at 5:56 am on July 18 after local residents reported a sudden flash fire
• The Mumbai Fire Brigade raised the alarm to Level II by 6:55 am, deploying fire engines alongside teams from Mumbai Police, MHADA, PWD, Adani’s emergency unit and BMC staff
• So far, 12–15 occupants have been pulled from the debris and treated at Bhabha and KEM hospitals, including two patients with critical burn injuries, and no deaths have been reported
• Early findings point to an LPG cylinder blast on temporary upper floors as the collapse trigger, and authorities are probing whether the top two levels were built without permits
• Search and rescue operations continue through the night with specialised equipment as crews work to locate up to 10 residents still feared trapped