MUMBAI, July 17: Rescuers cleared debris and used sniffer dogs Wednesday to find possible survivors under the rubble of a dilapidated building that collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai. At least 12 people were killed, and several are still feared trapped.
Dozens of rescuers worked overnight at the site where they have pulled out 11 survivors since the four-story building collapsed Tuesday, fire official Ashok Talpade said early Wednesday. The survivors included a child who was treated at a hospital and later allowed to go home. Others remain hospitalized.
A 16-year-old girl trapped under a heavy door was taken out by rescuers who cut through iron beams and cleared debris using hydraulic cutters.
The lane where the collapse occurred is too narrow for rescue vehicles, so equipment was carried by hand. People also formed a human chain to remove debris.
Heavy monsoon rains fall in India from June to September, causing severe flooding and collapsing poorly built and dilapidated structures.
At least four other collapses have occurred this month in Mumbai and another western city, Pune, killing at least 31 people. On Sunday, a building collapse in the northern town of Solan killed 14 people.
Maharashtra state’s top elected official, Devendra Fadanavis, said the building that collapsed Tuesday was nearly 100 years old and 15 families were living there.
Talpade said the families had stayed after being asked to leave. Waris Pathan, an opposition lawmaker, said the building was a death trap, with authorities saying they had no money to rebuild the structure.