One person was killed and 18 others suffered serious injuries when a 2-storey building, in which a garment factory was being run, collapsed in Bhiwandi area of Thane, in Mumbai, late on Wednesday night.



Rescue and relief operations are on in full swing and 35 people have been pulled out of the debris even as many others are still feared trapped inside.



According to reports, the building collapsed due to ongoing construction work. A third floor was being added to the old structure, even while people were working inside.



This is the fourth such incident to have happened in two months in Mumbai. Seven people, including a minor girl, were killed and another seven injured when a four-storeyed abandoned building occupied by unauthorised dwellers crashed on June 22.

On Wednesday, a fire had broken out at a heritage building in Ballard Pier area of south Mumbai on Wednesday morning, fire brigade sources said. The fire was put out in about an hour after it broke out.



"The fire broke out on the third floor of the Exchange Building in Ballard Pier," a fire brigade official said.



Fifteen fire tenders were rushed to the spot to douse the blaze, they said, adding that there were no reports of any casualties in the incident.



The firefighters are now trying to ascertain what caused the fire.



Ballard Estate is an old European style business district situated in south Mumbai next to the 'Fort' area.



It is located between Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and the 'Fort' area of South Mumbai, it hosts the offices of shipping companies and the headquarters of the Mumbai Port Trust at the Port House.



It also has the Reliance Centre and many mid-priced hotels and noted Irani cafe, Britannia.



In January this year, at least six people were killed and seven injured in a fire in southern Mumbai's Mahim area.



Seven fire engines and eight tankers had been rushed to combat the blaze and finally managed to control it after four hours.



