Three killed in Mumbai building collapse

Bai (Maharashtra), Aug 27: At least three people were killed and five were injured when a section of a residential building collapsed in Mumbai this morning.

The building, which is over 60-years old, is located in the Dongri area of south-central Mumbai.

Khalid Ansari, the proprietor of the building, said it collapsed because of ongoing illegal construction on its roof.

"The cause behind it (the collapse) is the illegal construction on the roof about which a complaint has already been lodged," he said.

Salma, a tenant of the building blamed it on the civic authorities.

"Our first demand is that we should be given accommodation. Our complaint has been lodged with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the last six months. We lodged it on December 4, 2006," she said.

There are at least 19,000 buildings in Mumbai that are marked as dangerous to live in by the BMC.

As soon as the news spread, five fire engines and three ambulances reached the spot.

Recently, five persons were killed after a portion of a five-storeyed Giridhar building collapsed onto an adjoining house in south Mumbai.

The incident brought back memories of the collapse of 'Lakshmi Chhaya' building in Borivili last month that killed 28 persons.

ANI>