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Shoddy flats partially collapse in India, killing 3

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-11-12 15:20

MUMBAI, India -- A six-story office and residential building partially collapsed in India's financial capital early Wednesday, killing at least three people, police said.

Firemen pull out the body of a victim from the debris of a collapsed block of flats in Mumbai November 12, 2008. At least four people were confirmed killed when the six-story building collapsed near a market in south Mumbai, a police source said on Wednesday. [Agencies]

Rescuers were trying to reach another three people feared trapped in the rubble after the rear of the structure fell down in Mumbai's crowded Crawford Market, said police officer Shamsher Pathan.

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Rescuers rescued four people under wooden beams and in the debris of the 50-year-old building, Pathan said.

Many residents fled their apartments and escaped as the structure started to crash down, he said, adding that a construction site next door may have contributed to the collapse.

Shoddy construction is often blamed for building collapses in Mumbai.

In August, a five-story building collapsed after monsoon rains in a crowded residential neighborhood of Mumbai, the capital of western Maharashtra state, killing 20 people.