Heavy rains in India's Mumbai cause several buildings to collapse

Heavy rains lashing India’s financial capital of Mumbai have caused several poorly constructed structures to collapse or develop cracks in the past 24 hours, killing as many as eight people. 

A multi-storey building in Fort, in the city's south, collapsed, killing six people and injuring several.

The dilapidated six-storey structure was home to five or six families who stayed on after residents were advised to evacuate as it was under repairs, eyewitnesses told television channels.

Two people were declared dead on Thursday evening, with disaster response officials pulling four more bodies from debris during the night, fire and police officials said.

Several people trapped

Several people had been trapped under the debris with many more stranded in the portion left standing after the collapse, causing instability, city fire chief PS Rahangdale said.

“The risk of secondary collapse can’t be ruled out,” he added.

Another building collapsed in the western suburb of Malad earlier, killing two, including a child, and injuring several.

A third building collapsed at night after the ceiling caved in, the Hindustan Times reported. At least two people were injured and two senior citizens were left trapped on the first floor.

Every year, heavy downpours in Mumbai bring down some rain-sodden small and large structures deemed too dangerous to live in.

Intense rains over the previous few days prompted weather officials on Thursday to upgrade to ‘red’ from ‘orange’ an alert called for the city and surrounding areas.