Mumbai bldg collapse kills 11

A crowd gather at the site of a collapsed building in Mumbai early yesterday. Eleven people were killed and another 25 were believed trapped under rubble after a four-storey building in India's flood-hit city of Mumbai collapsed early Tuesday. PHOTO: AFP

The dilapidated four-story structure, which was more than 100 years old, was home to 16 families, said Johnny Joseph, Mumbai's municipal commissioner. The building caved in while most residents were sleeping, he said.

The Sadaf building, located in a densely populated middle-class area of Nagpada and which had been notified dangerous by the civic authorities, collapsed around 1.10 am when most residents of its 16 flats were asleep, officials said.

Authorities say at least 50 people have been rescued and many more were feared buried under the rubble. Mumbai Police and civic agencies launched rescue operations.

"All authorities swung into action as soon as we got the news," said Johny Joseph, Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

"Initially we faced some difficulty in conducting rescue because the lanes that lead to the building are very narrow. The youths in the area came forward to help those trapped under the debris," Joseph told reporters.