MUMBAI, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Death toll from a four-storey building collapse in Mumbai on Tuesday rose to seven, while eight persons have been rescued and hospitalized so far and around 40 to 50 people were still feared trapped.
The dead included three females and four males, as per the update by the Mumbai police.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concerns over the death of the people.
"Collapse of a building in Mumbai's Dongri is anguishing. My condolences to the families of those who lost their lives," one of the prime minister office's tweets said.
The building was constructed in 1986 and the redevelopment was halted due to some unknown reasons.
"We have given permission to redevelop that area. We will know after investigation if the redevelopment initiative was delayed. Right now we are focusing on rescuing trapped people," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters.
Three teams from the National Disaster Response Force are involved in the rescue operation, who have termed it as a level 2 incident, while level 1 is the most serious under the system that measures the severity of a building collapse.
The adjacent buildings have also been vacated as a precautionary measure and residents have been shifted to a nearby school.
In May, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, the city's civic agency had identified 499 buildings as dangerous compared to 619 last year.
