8 feared dead, 40 trapped as building collapses in India’s Goa

At least eight people are feared dead and dozens others trapped in the rubble after a building under construction collapsed in the state of Goa, West India, local media reported, citing witnesses.

Rescuers working at the scene of the collapse in the town of Canacona have pulled out at least eight dead bodies from under the debris, witnesses told The Times of India.

At least three seriously injured workers have reportedly been rushed to a hospital.

Police so far confirm six fatalities.

"Bodies of six workers have been extracted. Over a dozen others were injured and sent to a PHC [public health center]," police said as quoted by India Today website.

More than 40 construction workers were caught in the collapse, according to Indian media. Up to 75 people were reportedly inside the building, which was apparently in the process of being built when it came crashing down.

“It was like an earthquake when the building fell,” witness Ramesh Naik was quoted as saying by AP.“You could not see what exactly had happened because of the dust.”

The collapsed construction was a three-storey building of the so-called Ruby Residency, police told local news agency IANS.

Fire engines and ambulances have been dispatched to the site of the incident, which is some 80 kilometers to the south of Goa’s capital of Panjim.

The collapse of a building is not uncommon news for India, but such accidents are usually related to badly constructed or illegally built buildings. One such eight-story building, where about 150 people lived and worked despite it still being under construction, collapsed in April 2013 near Mumbai, killing 72 people and injuring dozens more. Another five-story building came crashing down in Mumbai in September, killing more than 60.