A four-storey building has collapsed in the Indian city of Mumbai killing five people.

It is the second such incident in as many days.

Officials say the building was vacated two years ago but local vegetable vendors continued to use it as a night shelter.

"Five people died when the building collapsed early morning," Mumbai Police spokesman Satyanarayan Choudhary said.

Rescue operations are underway to clear the debris and search for survivors.

A local lawmaker Vinod Ghosalkar says civic authorities declared the building dangerous and evacuated it two years ago.

"It was due to be re-developed but there was a dispute between the owner and tenants," he said.

"Local vegetable vendors were taking shelter there."

Mr Ghosalkar says six people were being treated for injuries.

It is the fourth building collapse in the Mumbai area in recent months, including an apartment building collapse in April which killed 74 people.

Another apartment block collapsed on Friday in Thane district, killing 10 people.

The accident was blamed on alleged illegal alterations which caused part of the five-storey block to cave in.

The collapses have highlighted shoddy construction standards in India, where the huge demand for housing and widespread corruption is resulting in cost-cutting and a lack of safety inspections.

AFP