A building collapse in India early Friday has resulted in the death of 10 people, including five children and left at least nine injured as rescue operations continue.
Mumbai, India's financial capital, has been making the headlines lately for incidents of building collapse in recent weeks. A three-floor building collapsed early Friday, when the residents were asleep resulting in the death of at least 10 people, according to Mumbai police.
Police launched a search and rescue operation using sensors as early as 2:30 a.m. and rescued nearly 20 people from the debris, said Thane commissioner of police, K.P. Raghuvanshi. The police are continuing the rescue operation fearing many still trapped in the debris of the building. The injured victims have been admitted to a nearby hospital.
The cause for the sudden collapse of the 35-year old building is unknown but Mumbai has been flooded with heavy monsoon rains lately. The recent building collapses in India highlight the substandard constructions and cost-cutting, which compromises safety. Raising buildings beyond the permissible limit, remodeling, altering houses, non-repair of old structures are other factors responsible.
The rescue operation is being supervised by Commissioner Raghuvanshi and district collector P.Velrasu.
In another recent incident ten days ago, a four-storey building collapsed in Central Mumbai resulting in 10 deaths and six injured. In April, yet another major building collapse left 74 people dead and 64 were injured, it was an eight-floor building contracted illegally. It was recorded as the worst building collapse the country had seen in the last ten years.