At least 33 people are reported dead after a 117-year-old, six-storey building collapsed in Mumbai yesterday following heavy monsoon rains.
The building, which had previously been deemed unsafe, disintegrated in one of the most densely populated areas of India’s financial capital after two days of heavy rains in which 14 people have died in flooding, Reuters reported.
A number of families resided in the dilapidated building and it housed a nursery school, although the timing of the collapse in the early hours of 31 August meant pupils had not yet arrived, reports The Hindustan Times.
More than 30 were feared trapped under mounds of rubble and debris in the congested Bhendi Bazaar area of south Mumbai.
Some have been pulled from the debris, with five in critical condition in hospital, the Times reported.
According to the Times, the building was due to be demolished under an ambitious redevelopment scheme for Bhendi Bazaar, a 16.5-acre area crammed with shops, narrow alleys, and old buildings.
A statement from the development trust said seven families were moved from the building in 2013-14 after notices were issued declaring it dilapidated.
The collapse is the third in Mumbai in over the last two months, with a combined death toll of 33.
Image: Rescue workers and residents look for survivors at the site of a building collapse in Mumbai on 31 August 31, 2017 (Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images)
- Updated 1 September to reflect rising death toll
