Death toll in Mazgaon building collapse rises to 43

The death toll in the building collapse in Mumbai's Mazgaon area shot up to 43 on Saturday even as all efforts are being made to pull out those still trapped in the debris.

"The rescue efforts are on. We have rescued 33 people, 43 dead," said National Disaster Rapid Force (NDRF) Commandant Alok Awasthi.

Employees of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, also known as the BMC, were housed in the building.

Rescue workers used six cranes to remove debris. The building was believed to have been about 35-years-old and home to about 20 families.

The cause of the collapse was not known.

In April, a building collapse killed 72 people in Thane, just outside Mumbai. Officials later said the structure had been built using poor materials and did not have proper approvals.

A shortage of cheap homes has led to a rise in illegal construction by developers who use substandard materials and shoddy methods and then offer cheap rents to low-paid workers.

A rise in property prices in densely populated Mumbai over the past five years has put affordable housing out of reach of tens of thousands of people, many of them migrants who move to the city for work.