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India building collapse near Mumbai kills 35 | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
At least 35 people have died, including 11 children, after a building under construction collapsed near the Indian city of Mumbai, police say. | |
Dozens have been injured and many others are feared trapped beneath the seven-storey building in Thane. | |
Police said the block was an illegal construction and building work was still going on even though four floors were already occupied. | |
Building collapses are common with poor construction practices often blamed. | |
The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan in Mumbai says a growing population and a lack of space has seen an increase in the number of high rises, but many builders fail to take sufficient safety precautions, or obtain proper permission to build. | The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan in Mumbai says a growing population and a lack of space has seen an increase in the number of high rises, but many builders fail to take sufficient safety precautions, or obtain proper permission to build. |
A police official in Thane, Maharashtra state, said a section of the building collapsed on Thursday evening, bringing the entire structure down. | A police official in Thane, Maharashtra state, said a section of the building collapsed on Thursday evening, bringing the entire structure down. |
Rescue efforts continued throughout the night. | |
It is not yet clear what caused the collapse, but police inspector Digamber Jangale told the BBC it appeared to be due to the use of substandard building material. | |
At least four floors of the building had been completed and were occupied. Workers had finished three more floors and were adding an eighth floor when it collapsed, Mr Jangale said. | |
Most of the victims were construction workers who were staying in the building, he added. At least 69 people were injured. | |
Police said a case had been registered and an inquiry had begun and that they were searching for the builders to arrest them. | |
One witness, named only as Ramlal, said the building appeared to tilt before quickly collapsing. | One witness, named only as Ramlal, said the building appeared to tilt before quickly collapsing. |
"The building collapsed like a pack of cards within three to four seconds," he said. | "The building collapsed like a pack of cards within three to four seconds," he said. |
In December, at least 13 people died when part of a half-constructed building collapsed in the Wagholi area of Maharashtra. | |
Last September, at least six people were killed when a building collapsed in Pune city in Maharashtra. |