India building collapse: Six killed and dozens trapped in Mumbai Published duration 27 September 2013

media caption It is not known how many people may be trapped in the rubble

At least six people have been killed after a four-storey building collapsed in the western Indian city of Mumbai.

Rescuers are trying to reach dozens of people trapped in the debris of the building near Dockyard Road in the east of the city.

Sixteen people have been rescued from the rubble and taken to the hospital, officials said.

Correspondents say such incidents are common in India and often blamed on poor construction practices.

Crowds have collected near the rubble of the flattened building, reportedly owned by the city's municipal authority.

"My son is inside. I'm waiting for them to get him out," Mithi Solanki, 62, told the AFP news agency.

"Approximately 80 to 90 people are believed to be left behind in the building and trapped,'' Alok Awasthi of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) told the AFP news agency.

Officials said 22 families lived in the building and the municipality had asked the residents to leave it earlier this year.

"The building was around 30 years old. We had issued a notice to them in April to vacate the building, but they did not act," municipality spokesman Vijay Khabale Patil said. He did not explain why the families had been asked to leave.

Property prices and rent in Mumbai are among the highest in Asia. Many citizens are forced to live in old, dilapidated properties in a land-scarce city.

Over 100 people have been killed in five building collapses in Mumbai between April and June alone.