Building collapse in India kills 25, but 32 found alive

MUMBAI, India – At least 25 people have been confirmed dead in a collapsed apartment building in India’s financial capital of Mumbai, while rescuers have saved 32 others trapped under the rubble, authorities said today.

The five-story building caved in Friday morning near Dockyard Road in Mumbai’s southeast, trapping dozens and launching an intense search mission.

Rescuers pulled a small girl alive from the flattened remains of the building nearly 12 hours into the search, invigorating the complex mission involving hundreds of workers with crowbars, hammers and heavy machinery.

But as the search continued overnight, more bodies were found.

The disaster was the third deadly building collapse in six months in Mumbai.

At least 72 people died in April in Mumbai when an illegally constructed building fell down, and in June, at least 10 people, including five children, died when a three-story building collapsed in the city.

Across India, buildings falling down have become relatively common. Massive demand for housing around India’s fast-growing cities combined with pervasive corruption often results in contractors cutting corners by using substandard materials or adding unauthorized floors.