Seven dead in building collapse in India

At least seven people were killed and eight others injured when an old, seven-storey residential building collapsed in a Mumbai suburb today, police said.

The building had already been condemned as unsafe when it crashed down into a huge pile of concrete slabs, rubble and dust, Disaster Response Force commander Alok Awasthi said.

Rescuers pulled out seven bodies as well as eight survivors with minor injuries, police said.

Dozens of firefighters and emergency workers were digging into the wreckage to see whether more people were trapped in the debris, Mr Awasthi said.

Two ambulances were standing by ready to ferry the wounded to hospital.

While the building was officially uninhabited, some families were living there illegally. Another dozen or so people had set up makeshift slum huts at the base of the building in the Santacruz suburb of India’s west-coast financial capital.

Rescue operations are going on, Mr Awasthi added.

Building collapses are common in India, where high demand for housing and lax regulations have encouraged some builders to cut corners, use sub-standard materials or add unauthorised extra floors.