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Death Toll Rises to 17 in Mumbai Building Collapse


Rescuers look for survivors on the second day after a five-story building collapsed in the Ghatkopar area of Mumbai, India, July 26, 2017.
Rescuers look for survivors on the second day after a five-story building collapsed in the Ghatkopar area of Mumbai, India, July 26, 2017.

Seventeen people are now confirmed dead in Tuesday's collapse of a multi-story residential building in Mumbai, India.

Search and rescue crews uncovered more bodies in the wreckage during a frantic search for survivors overnight.

Authorities said they will launch an investigation into the tragedy after reports surfaced that the building, located in the suburb of Ghatkopar, was undergoing renovations at the time.

Also on Tuesday, at least two people were killed when a portion of a 100-year-old building collapsed in the city of Kolkata in eastern India. Many more were feared trapped.

Building collapses are common in India, especially during the monsoon season between June and September. Contractors take advantage of lax regulations by using substandard materials or add unauthorized extra floors.

Dozens of people were killed in 2013 in the collapse of a residential building, one of Mumbai's worst housing disasters.

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