Three balconies of Vasco building collapse, none hurt

Vasco: Three balconies of an unoccupied building in Vasco that was declared unsafe a while ago collapsed on Friday morning amid heavy rain in the port town. While two passers-by had a narrow escape, a scooter parked below the building was damaged by the falling debris.The incident occurred barely 50m away from the office and residence of local MLA Krishna Salkar, who rushed to the site along with his wife and ward councillor, Shami Salkar.Fire and emergency services, police personnel, staff from the electricity and PWD departments, and the municipal authorities were summoned and the internal road along which the building stands was cordoned off. It will remain closed for all types of vehicles and pedestrians as a precautionary measure.‘Happy Apartments’ had been declared unsafe by the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) following an inspection and a subsequent report on its deteriorating condition by the PWD. Occupants had long moved out of the structure after a similar incident was reported a couple of years ago when a portion of concrete collapsed.Only two shops operate on the ground floor of the building, both of which were closed on Friday due to Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. However, a scooter belonging to the shops’ owner was buried under the debris and was later salvaged by emergency services personnel.