VIRAR, India – A four-storey residential block, Ramabai Apartment, in Virar East (Palghar district, Maharashtra), suddenly fell late on 26 August 2025. The building collapse brought the country’s old and fragile buildings back into focus. Three people died, several more were hurt, and as many as 20 to 25 people are feared trapped under the rubble.
The block, located between Chamunda Nagar and Vijay Nagar on Narangi Road, failed late at night, raising urgent concerns about building safety and the condition of aging structures in cities across India. As emergency workers try to rescue people, worries are growing about why the building collapsed and how such disasters can be prevented.
At around 12:05 a.m. on 27 August, the rear section of the four-storey building gave way and crashed onto a nearby chawl. Early information suggests the ten-year-old building already had problems. Residents say days of heavy rain had left cracks in the walls, but official action had been slow. The Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVMC) had previously asked for a structural check, but repairs never went ahead.
Witnesses described being woken by a huge crash and the sounds of breaking concrete. The falling debris wrecked the Ramabai Apartment and also buried people in the neighbouring chawl. Among the victims were Aarohi Omkar Jovil (aged 24) and one-year-old Utkarsha Jovil, both pronounced dead in hospital. The third person killed had not yet been named. Nine other people were taken to hospitals in Virar and Nalasopara, with a few in serious condition.
Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire services, and local police reached the site quickly. They used JCB machines and specialist tools to clear the heavy debris while searching for survivors. District Disaster Management Officer Vivekanand Kadam said the top priority was to get everyone out from under the rubble safely. People in nearby blocks were evacuated, and structural engineers inspected the area for more risks.
Early checks pointed to poor maintenance, old age, and heavy rain as reasons for the collapse. Local people said leaks from rainwater had weakened the building further, a common problem during the monsoons. The accident has again highlighted the weaknesses in safety rules for buildings and gaps in the work of local authorities, including delays or failures to act on safety checks and repairs.
Pattern of Building Collapses Across India
The Virar incident is just one example in a long list of building failures in Indian cities, including many in and around Mumbai. In July 2025, the four-storey Sairaj Apartment in Nalasopara East collapsed after botched repair work caused serious damage.
Municipal authorities evacuated the building in time, so no lives were lost, but about 150 families had to leave their homes. This block was already labelled dangerous, but people stayed as there were no affordable alternatives.
There have been other tragedies in Virar. In June 2025, Alfiya Abbas Manaswala, aged 54, died when a slab collapsed in her flat at Merchant Apartment. A few days earlier, a four-year-old girl died in Nityanand Nagar when a balcony slab gave way.
The same month, Abdul Ahad (aged three) was killed when a slab in a 40-year-old Mira Road building collapsed, injuring his parents as well. These events show how widespread the danger is, especially in quickly growing areas like Vasai-Virar, where many old blocks built 15 to 20 years ago are now labelled unsafe.
Problems are not limited to Maharashtra. In July 2024, social media reports pointed to at least 12 bridge collapses in Bihar, due to poor materials, dodgy contracts, and suspect officials. The 2022 Morbi bridge collapse in Gujarat killed 135 people, showing what can happen when safety is not taken seriously. In Delhi, five people lost their lives in August 2025 when a worn-out dargah roof caved in near Humayun’s Tomb
Deeper Problems Behind the Repeated Disasters
These repeated tragedies are linked to wider, long-standing problems. Many low- and mid-income buildings, particularly on city fringes, are built cheaply to save money, sometimes through deals between builders and officials.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region, including Vasai-Virar, has seen fast, badly planned construction over the years. Reports on social media have claimed that a former head of the VVMC was arrested after the Enforcement Directorate uncovered a bribery operation that involved kickbacks for building approvals.
Heavy rains during the monsoon season make weak construction worse by causing water to seep in and further weaken foundations and walls. Even though safety checks are officially required, they are not always carried out.
Even when notices are served, building owners often ignore them. Most tenants and owners stay in these risky buildings because they cannot afford to move elsewhere, and because no new housing is available nearby. Neglect of timely repairs and the lack of safe relocation options mean thousands of people remain at risk.
The Virar tragedy is a harsh warning to update India’s approach to housing safety. First, city authorities need to act on audits and either fix collapsing buildings or pull them down.
Second, rules against low-quality construction and bribery must be stronger, so only safe materials and honest practices are used. Third, investment in affordable homes is urgently needed, so families are not forced to live in unsafe buildings. Public information campaigns can play a part, showing people the risks of ignoring warning signs and encouraging them to report problems as soon as they appear.
Emergency workers in Virar are still searching for survivors while the community waits for answers. The fall of Ramabai Apartment is not just one neighbourhood’s tragedy, but a national warning. India’s growing cities are full of old buildings close to collapse.
Unless action is taken quickly and on a big enough scale, such disasters will keep happening, putting more lives in danger and exposing the weaknesses in the country’s infrastructure.
