Building under construction collapses in India, killing 5

LUCKNOW, India – A six-story tannery building under construction in northern India collapsed on Wednesday, killing at least five workers, injuring 17 and possibly trapping up to 30 others.

District administrator Kaushal Raj Sharma said the army and the National Disaster Response Force was clearing the massive rubble and searching for the missing workers.

Sharma said the rescuers removed five people alive from the rubble and have also recovered five bodies. He said the operation was continuing through the night.

Twelve others were injured while working at the site. Three of injured have been hospitalized, he said.

The building came crashing down in Kanpur, a city in Uttar Pradesh state. The accident site is 95 kilometres (60 miles) northeast of Lucknow, the state capital.

Sharma said the building belonged to Mehtab Alab, a politician from the regional Samajwadi Party, which governs Uttar Pradesh state.

Building collapses are common in India, where high demand for housing and lax regulations have encouraged some builders to cut corners, use substandard materials or add unauthorized extra floors.

In 2013, 74 people were killed when an eight-story building being constructed illegally in Mumbai caved in.