25 trapped in India building collapse

MUMBAI, India — A multi-story building collapsed in India's financial capital of Mumbai early Friday, sending rescuers racing to reach more than two dozen people feared trapped in the rubble.

An Indian rescue official at the scene said there were no confirmed deaths yet, and nine people had been pulled alive from the building. He declined to give his name because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Local television NDTV reported that at least 25 people were believed to be in the five-story residential building near Dockyard Road when it collapsed just after 6 a.m. in the city's southeast.

It was the latest of several Mumbai building collapses this year. At least 72 people died in April when an illegally constructed building fell down, and a few weeks later a section of a hospital crumbled, injuring at least eight. In June, at least 10 people, including five children, died in when a three-story building collapsed.

Across India, building collapses have become relatively common. Massive demand for housing around India's fast-growing cities combined with pervasive corruption often result in builders cutting corners by using substandard materials or adding unauthorized floors. (AP)