Six confirmed dead in Poonam Chambers collapse

Six people have been confirmed dead and relatives of 11 people still feared trapped inside argued with officials about how slowly the rescue work was progressing at Poonam Chambers, part of which collapsed on Tuesday.

The relatives those trapped inside surrounded Municipal Commissioner Girish Gokhale and pointed out that only 30 people have been working in the night compared to nearly 200 people in the evening when Chief Minister, Manohar Joshi arrived.

A grief-stricken woman shouted at Girish Gokhale, saying, "The BMC is working only when chief minister or deputy chief minister arrive on the site." The people demanded that the debris be cleared by machines rather than manually. It took Mayor Vishaka Raut to calm the people.

As time passed the chances of more survivors emerging dimmed. "After every ten minutes my other relatives are calling from home on my mobile to know the latest information. I cannot tell them that no progress has been made so far," one weeping lady told the mayor.

Meanwhile, a Standard Chartered Bank spokesperson clarified that only one of its employees, Gurumurti Subramaniam, had died. The spokesperson also denied reports that the building crashed because some work was going in the basement area.

"Since last 18 months no construction activity took place in the basement area of the bank," she said.

Meanwhile, furniture and equipment are being shifted out from the neighbouring buildings after Raut announced that people would be allowed to work there only after the buildings are examined by the BMC.

Police said on Wednesday that one top ranking officials of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development -- Manager Sopan Gajage -- died on Wednesday morning at a city hospital where he were admitted on Tuesday.

Asked why the building collapsed, fire officials said it could have been due to sea water corroding through the iron pillars of the building.

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