India building collapse: At least 13 bodies pulled from rubble

At least 13 people have been killed and several are still missing after a residential building collapsed in western India_ where a rescue operation has been under way for more than 28 hours_ officials said on Tuesday. The emergency services have found 76 people alive_ but there are still about six unaccounted for following the disaster on Monday evening in Mahad_ an industrial town about 165km (100 miles) south of Mumbai. Workers rescued a four-year-old boy after his cries were heard beneath the ruins of the five-storey building_ which a police officer described as having come down like "a deck of cards". As an ambulance crew rushed the child from the disaster site_ distraught relatives shouted out the names of missing loved ones_ while some combed through warped tin sheets_ mangled metal rods and broken concrete looking for signs of life. A woman among the survivors described how she and her three daughters fled when the building_ which had contained 47 apartments and was home to about 200 people_ began to shake. "We had just gone a few metres from the building and we heard a loud noise. Then there was smoke everywhere. The building collapsed a few seconds after we ran out_" Shabana Lora told the Reuters news agency. Other survivors said they had first thought they were caught in an earthquake_ before realising only their apartment block had come down. Five-story building collapsed in India Government officials said 18 of the more seriously injured were admitted to hospital. As the search for survivors continued in the rain_ rescue teams tried to remove or stabilise sections of the building in danger of a fresh collapse. According to a police official at the site_ legal action had been initiated against the builder. The cause of the disaster has not been determined_ but building collapses are common_ especially during the monsoon season rains_ as construction is often shoddy_ with builders disregarding regulations and using substandard materials. In 2017_ National Crime Records Bureau data shows more than 1_200 people were killed in building collapses nationwide. Responding to the latest disaster_ Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sadness in a tweet_ and said he was praying for the injured to recover.