The death toll from a collapsed apartment block in India rose to 20 overnight as rescuers said Wednesday they didn't expect to find anyone else trapped dead or alive in the rubble.
Local officials had initially feared up to 200 residents of 47 flats were buried when the block collapsed late Monday in Mahad, south of Mumbai.
But many were spared, having fled the town weeks earlier to wait out the coronavirus pandemic in their home villages.
"We are in the final stages and don't expect anyone (else) trapped under the debris," Shiv Kumar, a spokesman for India's National Disaster Response Force, told AFP.
Emergency workers rescued nine people from the wreckage, with the loudest cheers reserved for a four-year-old boy found alive on Tuesday afternoon.
Shell-shocked residents said they had previously complained to the builder about the condition of the complex, with police launching an investigation against him and four other people in connection with the tragedy.
Local politician Manik Motiram Jagtap told TV9 Marathi that the building was 10 years old and built on "weak" foundations.
"It fell like a house of cards," he said.
Building collapses are common during India's June-September monsoon, with old and rickety structures buckling after days of non-stop rain.
In another incident highlighting the precarious state of India's infrastructure, a three-storey residential building collapsed in central Madhya Pradesh state on Tuesday following heavy rains.
Emergency workers -- using shovels and in some cases their bare hands to remove debris -- rescued nine people, reports said.
The monsoon plays a vital role in boosting harvests across South Asia, but also causes widespread death and destruction, unleashing floods, triggering building collapses and inundating low-lying villages.
The death toll from monsoon-related disasters this year has topped 1,200, including more than 800 in India.Residents told emergency workers that when they ran out of the building, the pillars in the parking lot were "still vibrating," meaning they could have withstood the collapse.
Srivastava said "it is possible that the first floor may be intact," but that responders "can't see it below the debris."
"We expect the people who are trapped to be on the first or second floor or in the parking of the building," Srivastava said. "We are going through the vents and are using the canines to check, they smell live victims so if someone is trapped in the debris it will indicate it to us."
An official with the local fire department, V.Y. Mote, said he expects the operation to take one more day.
The building was made up of 41 apartments, but 18 of them were not occupied, district official Nidhi Chaudhary told reporters. Local authorities have prepared a list of the building's residents and "have shared the details of the missing persons with those present at the scene of the collapse in case they are able to identify someone from among the injured," Chaudhary said.
Authorities initially feared that up to 60 people were trapped and 18 were injured, but have since revised those figures.
It's unclear what caused the building to collapse. August is monsoon season in India, when intense rains and floods wreak havoc on infrastructure, but authorities also appear to be investigating negligence. An initial police report has been filed against five people -- including the individual whose company built the building -- for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but no arrests have been made.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter he was "saddened" by news of the collapse and that his "thoughts are with the families of those who lost their dear ones."
"I pray the injured recover soon. Local authorities and NDRF teams are at the site of the tragedy, providing all possible assistance," his office tweeted.
Following initial reports of the incident, the Twitter account for the office of Maharashtra's Chief Minister Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray tweeted: "CM Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray spoke to MLA @BharatGogawale and Collector Nidhi Chaudhary to inquire about the building collapse in Mahad. He has assured them that all possible support will be extended for speedy rescue & relief works."
India's home affairs minister, Amit Shah, tweeted: "The collapse of a building in Raigad, Maharashtra is very tragic. Have spoken to DG @NDRFHQ to provide all possible assistance, teams are on the way and will be assisting with the rescue operations as soon as possible. Praying for everyone's safety."
