The
death toll from a collapsed building in India's financial center Mumbai
rose to 72 on Saturday, as 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 the wreck of twisted steel
and concrete after the seven-storey building collapsed "like a pack of
cards" on Thursday evening, officials and witnesses said.
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 to low-paid workers.
"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 laborers paying
rent of around $5 a day had lived in the building.
The building, which was in a forested
area in the city of Thane, had been made using poor materials and
without proper approvals, 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."
As the sun rose on Saturday, around 100
workers from the national disaster relief agency continued to use
jackhammers and other equipment to cut through the pile of metal and
concrete.
The woman dragged from the building on
Saturday 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 in connection with the disaster.
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