One killed, four injured as a building collapses in Mumbai

Kurla (Maharashtra), July 29 (ANI): One person was killed and four others injured as a multi-storeyed building collapsed in Kurla, Maharashtra.

"This all happened at around 9.30 pm. People came back home from work and were having their dinner and suddenly the building collapsed. It was God's grace that only a part of building collapsed, so people suddenly came out of their houses and then the whole building collapsed. We are still not sure how many people have stuck in but most of the people living in the building are safe," said Ramesh, a local on Wednesday.

The building collapse has raised serious concerns about the safety of other apartments in the region as the area said to be developed illegally.

"I heard some noise. So, when I came out to see what was happening, I saw that a portion of the building was collapsing. So, we all came out of our houses. Suddenly, the building collapsed," said Hasan, a local.

The injured have been admitted to a hospital and rescue operations are still in progress.

"The residents of the building told us that around 10 pm a portion of the building collapsed and then people started vacating the building. And around 12 pm the whole building collapsed. Till now four people are injured and they have been admitted in the hospital. The main priority for us right now is to remove the debris so that people stuck inside should be rescued immediately.

Then further investigations will be done on how this building was constructed, when was it constructed and what role did Mahanagar Palika (Municipal corporation) played in it," said Vasim Khan, lawmaker from Kurla.

Nine fire engines are at the spot for the rescue work. By Anand SrivastavaANI)