61 confirmed dead in Mumbai building collapse
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New Delhi (dpa) - The confirmed death toll reached 61 in the collapse of an apartment building in India's financial hub of Mumbai, officials said Sunday as search operations concluded after two days.
The four-storey building in the south-eastern part of the city collapsed early on Friday morning, when most people were still asleep.
"The operation was called off at 6:15 am after a thorough search of the area for survivors," National Disaster Response Force commander Alok Avasthy said from the site.
"Besides NDRF personnel in the rescue efforts, canine squads, life detectors and victim-locating cameras were used to search the site."
More than 30 people were rescued from the rubble and admitted to hospitals.
Officials said the 30-year-old building, used as a residential complex for city employees, did not meet safety criteria.
Police arrested a contractor Saturday following a complaint from municipal authorities that he had allegedly made illegal alterations to the ground floor of the building.
