A three-storey building on the outskirts of Mumbai collapsed early on Monday morning as residents were asleep inside, killing at least eight people, local reports said.

A further 20 to 25 people were reported to be trapped in the building in Bhiwandi, Satya Pradhan, the chief of the National Disaster Response Force, said in a tweet. He said rescue teams were en route to the site.

Television showed a pile of rubble with rescuers climbing ladders to get to anyone still inside, and deploying dogs to search for survivors. Reuters partner ANI reported a child had been rescued.

Video: The building caved in early on Monday, police said, adding search and rescue operations are under way#BhiwandiBuildingCollapse pic.twitter.com/QO7qfZ4jai

— TOI Mumbai (@TOIMumbai) September 21, 2020

Reuters partner ANI quoted the spokesman of Bhiwandi municipal corporation as saying eight people were dead.

The building was on a dangerous building list and a notice for it to be vacated had been issued, the Times of India reported, citing Pankaj Ashiya, a commissioner in the Bhiwandi-Nizampura City Municipal Corporation.

Last month, at least 13 people were killed after a five-storey building collapsed in Mahad, an industrial town about 165km (100 miles) south of Mumbai.

In 2017, National Crime Records Bureau data showed more than 1,200 people were killed in building collapses nationwide.

[Al Jazeera]

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies