Building collapses in India; at least 27 killed

Rescue workers look for trapped people after a residential building collapsed in Thane, Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 4, 2013. At least 6 persons were killed and 40 were injured when an under-construction residential building collapsed on Thursday evening according to local reports

Rescue workers look for trapped people after a residential building collapsed in Thane, Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 4, 2013.

Rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble

Rescue workers look for trapped people after a residential building collapsed in Thane, Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 4, 2013. At least 6 persons were killed and 40 were injured when an under construction residential building collapsed on Thursday evening according to local reports

MUMBAI, India (AP) — A building collapsed as it was being constructed illegally in a Mumbai, India, suburb, killing at least 27 people, police said Friday.

The collapse injured 54 others and rescuers are searching for more casualties in the debris, Police Inspector Digamber Jangale said.

The building in the Mumbai suburb of Thane did not have clearances from local authorities to be built, he said. The first four floors had offices, but most occupants had left for the day at the time of the collapse.

Workers were adding four more floors and had finished three before the building fell.

Most of the dead were construction workers who were staying in the building, Jangale said. The condition of at least 10 of the injured was serious, he said.

Police said it was not immediately clear what caused the structure to collapse. Police have arrested the builder and his associate.

Building collapses are common in India as builders try to cut corners by using poor quality materials and multi-storied structures are built with inadequate supervision.

Rescue workers carry the body of a man near the site of a residential building which collapsed in Thane, Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 4, 2013. At least 6 persons were killed and 40 were injured when an under construction residential building collapsed on Thursday evening according to local reports.

Rescue workers carry the body of a women near the site of a residential building collapsed in Thane, Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 4, 2013. At least 6 persons were killed and 40 were injured when an under construction residential building collapsed on Thursday evening according to local reports.

(AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)