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A portion of the Kohinoor Building in the Balaji Nagar area of the powerloom town, around 50km from Mumbai, came crashing down at 11.20 pm on Thursday. Rescue workers from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Thane Disaster Response Force (TDRF), and the municipal fire brigade pulled out ten bodies as heavy machinery and sniffer dogs were deployed to look for survivors under the debris of the four-storey structure, said the officials of the district disaster management cell. The structure comprised 48 rooms, 12 on each floor. Around 9 pm on Thursday, residents heard "loud cracking sounds" emanating from the building, an official said. Fearing the worst, locals immediately helped evacuate many families to other locations. However, while some occupants were still making their way out, the 'B' wing of the building caved in, he said. The officials said five of the deceased were identified as Shamim Shaikh (32), Ranjeet Singh (45), Miraj Rasul Shaikh (34), Santosh Kumar Pandey (42) and Shamim Ansari (30). The Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation (BNCMC) said it had identified the building as "dangerous" in September 2020, and finally issued eviction notices on June 5 this year, subsequently disconnecting electricity and water supply. But despite that, the property owners initiated structural repair works without obtaining any permission from the civic body.