14 DAY TRIAL // At least 25 people have died and hundreds have been injured during a building collapse in India, reports say.
The building in the country's financial capital of Mumbai came crumbling down early on Friday morning. It is located on Dockyard Road in the southeastern part of the town.
Authorities managing the disaster rescue operations are scouring to look for survivors and bodies, and more casualties are expected to turn up as the search mission carries on.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) commandant Alok Awasthi describes that at least 36 people are still trapped under the debris.
According to NDTV, 40 people have been rescued from the rubble. Nine women are included among the victims who have not survived the incident.
"We have taken out more than 40 persons. We will not panic and work until the last person is taken out," Awasthi adds.
Police have arrested a man renting out the building after noticing several building violations. He had obtained permits for the building, but added new sections and making alterations without proper authorization.
"He had rented place in that building, and as per allegations had made some illegal alterations in the building," a spokesperson for the police says. He has been detained and he is currently awaiting a hearing.
This April, 70 people were killed when a building collapsed in Bangladesh, neighboring India. The complex housed a garment factory, and the victims were employees.
600 people were wounded in a tragedy that could have been prevented. Company officials did not follow the law and report problems with the building.
"The building, which housed four garment factories employing some 5,000 people in addition to shops and a bank, had developed cracks on Tuesday, but workers told local news outlets that managers required them to attend work on Wednesday anyway," Gawker wrote at the time.