6 killed in building collapse amid heavy rains in India's Mumbai

NEW DELHI, July 6 (Xinhua) -- At least six people were killed and one injured after a portion of a three-storey residential building collapsed amid heavy rains in India's financial capital, Mumbai, officials said Monday.

The building, which housed many residential units, collapsed on Sunday night in the Mankhurd area of Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city's civic body, the incident took place in the Janta Nagar area when a section of the building gave way. Following the incident, rescue teams rushed to the spot and launched an operation to pull out those trapped.

The exact cause of the collapse was being ascertained. Officials said rescue and clearance operations are underway, and they are assessing whether there is any further risk to adjoining structures.

Heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Sunday, disrupting flight operations at the city's international airport for nearly an hour, inundating several roads and triggering multiple treefall incidents across the city.

The India Meteorological Department had issued a red alert for Mumbai, warning of extremely heavy rainfall.

Rains also triggered landslides on the expressway connecting Mumbai with Pune, forcing its closure and disrupting traffic between the two cities.