Building collapse toll up to 72
Source: Agencies |
April 7, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE death toll from a collapsed building on the outskirts of Mumbai in India rose to 72 yesterday.
However, an injured woman trapped for 36 hours was freed from the rubble of the illegal and half-constructed building.
Rescue workers using cranes and bulldozers continued to search through steel and concrete after the seven-storey building collapsed "like a pack of cards" on Thursday evening.
A shortage of cheap homes in Asia's third-largest economy has led to a rise in illegal construction by developers who use substandard materials and shoddy methods in order to offer rock-bottom rents.
"The building collapsed like a pack of cards within three to four seconds," said Ramlal, a resident. "It just tilted a bit and collapsed," he said. Residents said labourers paying around US$5 a day had lived there.
The building, in a forested area in the city of Thane, had been made using poor materials and without proper approval, said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for licensing authority the Thane Municipal Corporation.
He said 72 people had been killed and 36 injured had been admitted into local hospitals. "There may still be more bodies inside," Malvi added. "The rescue is still going on."
Yesterday, around 100 workers from the national disaster relief agency continued to use jackhammers to cut through the pile of metal and concrete.
The woman dragged from the building was found after workers heard her voice and used camera equipment to pinpoint her location under the rubble. A 10-month old infant was pulled from the debris on Friday.
The Deputy Municipal Commissioner of the area has been suspended following the collapse, which the state chief minister said was due to the building being built illegally, local media reported.
Police said they were searching for the builders and would charge them with culpable homicide. Reports said two builders had been arrested.
However, an injured woman trapped for 36 hours was freed from the rubble of the illegal and half-constructed building.
Rescue workers using cranes and bulldozers continued to search through steel and concrete after the seven-storey building collapsed "like a pack of cards" on Thursday evening.
A shortage of cheap homes in Asia's third-largest economy has led to a rise in illegal construction by developers who use substandard materials and shoddy methods in order to offer rock-bottom rents.
"The building collapsed like a pack of cards within three to four seconds," said Ramlal, a resident. "It just tilted a bit and collapsed," he said. Residents said labourers paying around US$5 a day had lived there.
The building, in a forested area in the city of Thane, had been made using poor materials and without proper approval, said Sandeep Malvi, a spokesman for licensing authority the Thane Municipal Corporation.
He said 72 people had been killed and 36 injured had been admitted into local hospitals. "There may still be more bodies inside," Malvi added. "The rescue is still going on."
Yesterday, around 100 workers from the national disaster relief agency continued to use jackhammers to cut through the pile of metal and concrete.
The woman dragged from the building was found after workers heard her voice and used camera equipment to pinpoint her location under the rubble. A 10-month old infant was pulled from the debris on Friday.
The Deputy Municipal Commissioner of the area has been suspended following the collapse, which the state chief minister said was due to the building being built illegally, local media reported.
Police said they were searching for the builders and would charge them with culpable homicide. Reports said two builders had been arrested.
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