Mumbai building collapse death toll rises to 25
- September 28, 2013, 7:16 pm
- World News
- 99 Views
Mumbai, September 28 (Online): At least 25 people are now known to have died when a four-storey residential building collapsed in the western Indian city of Mumbai, Indian media quoting officials reported on Saturday.
Thirty two people have so far been pulled from the rubble of Friday's disaster, some with serious injuries.
Others are still believed to be trapped in the debris of the building near Dockyard Road in the east of the city.
The collapse is the latest in a series in Mumbai. Poor construction practices have been blamed in earlier incidents.
As rescuers equipped with cranes worked into the night, a young girl was pulled alive from the ruins nearly 12 hours after the collapse.
The cause of the collapse is not yet known.
"Five members from my family were trapped inside. So far, two have been rescued. I am praying to God others will also come out alive," Preeti Pawar, among crowds of relatives and onlookers outside the ruins, told Reuters news agency.
Earlier, officials were reported as saying that up to 90 people could be trapped in the building, which had been home to families of employees of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai.
They said the municipality had asked the residents to vacate the property earlier this year.
Property prices and rent in Mumbai are among the highest in Asia. Many citizens are forced to live in old, dilapidated properties in a land-scarce city.
More than 100 people have been killed in five building collapses in Mumbai between April and June alone.
And between 2008 and 2012, there were 100 building collapses in the city in which 53 people died and 103 others were injured, authorities say.
