Building collapses in India; 25 feared trapped

Indian rescuers use machinery to remove the debris after two adjacent apartment buildings collapsed at Vadodara in Gujarat state, India, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2013. AP Photo/Ajit Solanki

MUMBAI, India — A multi-story building has collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai. Rescuers are trying to reach more than two dozen people feared trapped in the rubble, but there have been no immediate reports of casualties.

Local television NDTV reported Friday that at least 25 people were believed to be in the five-story residential building near Dockyard Road when it collapsed after dawn in the city’s southeast.

It was the second Mumbai building to fall down this year. In June, at least 10 people died in when a three-story building collapsed.

Across India, building collapses have become relatively common. Massive demand for housing around India’s fast-growing cities combined with pervasive corruption often result in builders using substandard materials or adding unauthorized floors.

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