At least 28 killed in western India building collapse

USPA News - At least 28 people were killed after a building collapsed in western India, while dozens more are feared trapped under the debris, local media reported Friday. The incident occurred at around 6:30 p.m. local time on Thursday evening when an illegal seven-storey building, located near the Lucky Compound area of ShilPhata near Mumbra in the state of Maharashtra, collapsed.

The building was still under construction, as workers were on the sixth and seventh floors. Most of the rescued were the construction workers on those top floors. However, several people were in the bottom floors, including at least 10 school children taking coaching classes on the second floor. According to the Times of India, at least 28 people were killed, while 50 others were feared trapped. Heavy machinery was deployed in order to move the concrete slabs and continue rescue operations, but chaotic crowds were making operations difficult. The illegal building was built in two months by Jameel Khan and Nafiz Qureshi, who are among other partners involved in the project that involved two seven-storey buildings.