The death toll in a building collapse in the western Indian city of Mumbai has increased to 17, the fire department said.

Rescue workers continued to search for survivors at the site where the five-storey building came crashing down on Tuesday.

At least 13 people were injured and about a dozen are still unaccounted for. The building was in an eastern suburb of Mumbai, India’s business and entertainment capital.

Relatives of people trapped under the rubble of the collapsed building watch the rescue operation in Mumbai (Rafiq Maqbool/AP/PA)

The cause of the collapse is still being investigated. Such accidents are common in India during the monsoon season, which is June to September. Poor enforcement of regulations encourages some builders to cut corners, use substandard materials or add unauthorised extra floors, leading to such accidents.

In addition, old buildings continue to be used without adequate safety checks.

On Tuesday, a portion of a 100-year-old building collapsed in the eastern city of Kolkata, killing two people.</s>Rescue workers search for survivors after four-storey building containing nursing home and family apartments topples.

Rescuers have stepped up a desperate effort to find survivors buried under the rubble of a collapsed building in India's largest city, Mumbai, as the death toll rose to at least 17.

The four-storey building in Mumbai's eastern suburb of Ghatkopar housed a nursing home on the ground floor and three to four families on each of the other floors.

"Seventeen have died and 28 people have been rescued," Tanaji Kamble, a disaster management spokesman for Mumbai's civic administrative body, told AFP.

The disaster on Tuesday morning was the latest to highlight poor construction standards in India.

The Ghatkopar building is at least 40 years old.

"The building wasn't on the list of dilapidated buildings," Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar told reporters on Tuesday.

"We will investigate whether the building fell because of an alteration in the structure."

Search and rescue operations went on amid sporadic rain showers on Wednesday.

"There was a hospital at the basement of the building that was conducting renovation work, which could have led to the collapse of the building," Prakash Mehta, housing minister for the western state of Maharashtra, told reporters.

The chief minister of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, ordered an investigation into the latest incident after reports that renovation work was going on at the site at the time of the collapse.

Mumbai is particularly vulnerable with millions forced to live in cramped, ramshackle properties because of rising property prices and a lack of housing for the poor.

A dilapidated building left 12 people dead when it collapsed near the city in August 2015. Nine people died the same month when another old three-storey building collapsed in monsoon rain in the Mumbai suburb of Thakurli.

In 2013, 60 people were killed when a residential block came crashing down in one of Mumbai's worst housing disasters.</s>Officials say the death toll in a building collapse in the western Indian city of Mumbai has risen to 17.

The fire department said Wednesday that rescue workers are still working at the site where the five-story building came crashing down a day earlier.

Officials say at least 13 people were injured and about a dozen are still unaccounted for. The building was in an eastern suburb of Mumbai, India's business and entertainment capital.

The cause of the collapse is still being investigated. Such accidents are common in India during the monsoon season, which is June to September.</s>MUMBAI, July 26 (Reuters) - Indian police on Wednesday arrested the owner of several apartments in a four-storey building that collapsed in Mumbai killing 17 people, an official said, adding the cause of the disaster was likely unauthorised renovation.

Sunil Shitap, whose wife contested municipal elections this year for the Shiv Sena regional political party, was charged with culpable homicide, the official said.

The death toll from the Tuesday collapse of the 40-year-old building in the eastern suburbs of India's financial hub more than doubled overnight to 17 as rescuers removed debris, a fire official said.

The building housed a nursing home on the ground floor and three to four families on each of the other floors.

Media reported that Shitap owned all the ground floor apartments at the site and had converted them into a nursing home. He had been conducting renovations at the building ahead of the collapse.

Shitap was not immediately reachable for comment over the phone.

On Tuesday, the Maharashtra state chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, visited the site and assured action would be taken against those responsible for the tragedy.

"The building wasn't on the list of dilapidated buildings," Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar told reporters on Tuesday. "We will investigate whether the building fell because of an alteration in the structure."

In 2013, 145 people were killed in three separate building collapses around Mumbai, on India's western coast, the highest toll in recent years. (Reporting by Swati Bhat and Rajendra Jadhav; Editing by Nick Macfie)</s>MUMBAI (AFP) - Rescuers stepped up a desperate bid on Wednesday (July 260 to find victims buried under the rubble of a collapsed building in Mumbai as the death toll rose to 17.

The disaster, which occurred in the northern suburb of Ghatkopar on Tuesday morning, was the latest to shine a spotlight on poor construction standards in India.

"Seventeen have died and 28 people have been rescued," Tanaji Kamble, a disaster management spokesman for Mumbai's civic administrative body, told AFP.

Some bodies were found during the night. Rescuers, using diggers, sifted through the debris on Wednesday morning in the hope of finding more trapped survivors in the block of apartments.

Building collapses are common in India, especially during the monsoon season from late June to September.

India's financial capital is particularly vulnerable with millions forced to live in cramped, ramshackle properties because of rising real estate prices and a lack of housing for the poor.

The city has been hit by several deadly building collapses in recent years, often caused by shoddy construction, poor quality materials or ageing buildings.

The chief minister of Maharashtra state, of which Mumbai is the capital, ordered an investigation into the latest incident after reports that renovation work was going on at the site at the time of the collapse.

In 2013, 60 people were killed when a residential block came crashing down in one of Mumbai's worst housing disasters.

A dilapidated building left 12 people dead when it collapsed near the city in August 2015. Nine people died the same month when another old three-storey building collapsed in monsoon rain in the Mumbai suburb of Thakurli.</s>Death toll in Mumbai building collapse rises to 17 as rescuers search rubble

The death toll from the collapse of a four-storey building in the suburbs of India's financial capital, Mumbai, more than doubled overnight to 17 as rescuers removed debris searching for those still trapped, a police official said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

The 40-year-old building in Mumbai's eastern suburb of Ghatkopar housed a nursing home on the ground floor and three to four families on each of the other floors.

"The building wasn't on the list of dilapidated buildings," Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar told reporters on Tuesday. "We will investigate whether the building fell because of an alteration in the structure."

Search and rescue operations went on amid sporadic rain showers on Wednesday.

"There was a hospital at the basement of the building that was conducting renovation work, which could have led to the collapse of the building," Prakash Mehta, housing minister for the western state of Maharashtra, told reporters.

In 2013, 145 people were killed in three separate building collapses around Mumbai, on India's western coast, the highest toll in recent years.</s>MUMBAI: At least six people were crushed to death when a four-storey building collapsed in India’s financial capital of Mumbai Tuesday, the latest incident to highlight poor construction standards in the country.

Rescuers pulled a dozen others out of the rubble alive, some seriously injured, after the structure gave way mid-morning in the northern suburb of Ghatkopar, officials said.

“The death toll is now six. We think around 15 may still be trapped and rescue operations are ongoing,” Tanaji Kamble, a disaster management spokesman for Mumbai’s civic administrative body, told Agence France-Presse.

Building collapses are common in India, especially during the annual monsoon season which usually runs from late June to September.

In a separate incident Tuesday, a building partially collapsed in Kolkata in India’s east after days of monsoonal rain. Several people were trapped in the rubble, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

“Firefighters are trying to rescue the people trapped under the debris,” said G P Ghosh, director of fire services in West Bengal state.

Mumbai is particularly susceptible with millions forced to live in cramped, ramshackle properties because of rising real estate prices and a lack of housing for the poor.

The city has been hit by several deadly building collapses in recent years, often caused by shoddy construction, poor quality materials or ageing buildings.

In 2013, 60 people were killed when a residential block came crashing down in one of Mumbai’s worst housing disasters.

A dilapidated building left 12 people dead when it collapsed near the city in August 2015. Nine people died the same month when another old three-storey building collapsed in monsoon rain in the Mumbai suburb of Thakurli. AFP</s>NEW DELHI — The death toll in a building collapse in the western Indian city of Mumbai rose to 17 Wednesday, a day after the accident occurred, the fire department said.

Rescue workers continued to search for survivors at the site where the five-story building came crashing down.

At least 13 people were injured and about a dozen are still unaccounted for. The building was in an eastern suburb of Mumbai, India's business and entertainment capital.

The cause of the collapse is still being investigated. Such accidents are common in India during the monsoon season, which is June to September. Poor enforcement of regulations encourages some builders to cut corners, use substandard materials or add unauthorized extra floors, leading to such accidents.</s>Mumbai building collapse kills at least eight, many feared trapped

Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed building in the suburbs of Mumbai July 25, 2017. — Reuters picMUMBAI, July 25 — A 40-year old four-storey building collapsed in the Indian city of Mumbai today, killing at least eight people with more than 20 feared trapped, fire and police officials said.

“Search and rescue operations are still on,” said P.S. Rahangdale, chief fire officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, adding two firemen were injured during the rescue operation.

A total of 16 people had been rescued so far, he said.

The ground floor of the building in the suburb of Ghatkopar housed a nursing home, which was vacant at the time, while the rest of the building was occupied by three or four families on each floor, he said.

In 2013, 145 people were killed in three separate building collapses around Mumbai, on the western coast, the highest in recent years.

In the eastern city of Kolkata, a portion of an almost century-old building collapsed killing two people and some were feared trapped, media channels reported. — Reuters</s>The death toll in a building collapse in the western Indian city of Mumbai rose to 17 Wednesday, a day after the accident occurred, the fire department said.

Rescue workers continued to search for survivors at the site where the five-story building came crashing down.

At least 13 people were injured and about a dozen are still unaccounted for. The building was in an eastern suburb of Mumbai, India's business and entertainment capital.

The cause of the collapse is still being investigated. Such accidents are common in India during the monsoon season, which is June to September. Poor enforcement of regulations encourages some builders to cut corners, use substandard materials or add unauthorized extra floors, leading to such accidents.

In addition, old buildings continue to be used without adequate safety checks.

On Tuesday, a portion of a 100-year-old building collapsed in the eastern city of Kolkata, killing two people.
At least 17 people are killed in a building collapse in the Indian city of Mumbai with at least 13 injured and twelve people unaccounted for.