Two dead, dozens trapped in India building collapse

Tribune Online
Two dead, dozens trapped in India building collapse

Two people have been killed and more than 30 are still trapped after a four-storey building collapsed in the Indian city of Mumbai, officials say.

The cause of the collapse in the Dongri area in southern Mumbai is not clear.

Reports say the building was up to 100 years old. Recent monsoon flooding may also have been a factor, reports say.

It’s estimated disasters such as this kill about 2,000 people a year in India. Poor construction standards and dilapidated buildings are often blamed.

Rescue teams from the fire department and the national disaster response force are looking for those trapped by debris, officials told BBC Marathi.

Local news reports show images of people forming a human chain to remove debris with their bare hands. Reports say at least five people, including a child, have been rescued.

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“We heard a loud noise. Everybody shouted, ‘building is falling, the building is falling’. I ran. It felt like a big earthquake,” a passer-by told the NDTV news channel.

Ambulances and fire trucks have been forced to park some distance away as the lane leading to the building are too narrow for them to enter.

Dozens of buildings have collapsed in Mumbai and other parts of India in recent years, often during the monsoon season between June and September.

In August 2017 three different buildings collapsed in Mumbai.

The city witnessed one of its worst accidents in 2013 when a building still under construction collapsed in the Thane neighbourhood, killing more than 70 people.

Two dead, dozens trapped in India building collapse
Tribune Online