March 30, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 21, 1429

NEW DELHI, March 29: Seven people were killed, including two young children, when a four-storey building collapsed in the Indian capital on Saturday, and police were attempting to rescue more people still trapped.

At least 21 people were pulled from debris after the building that was under construction in northeast Delhi caved in early on Saturday. “Seven died,” police official Rajiv Ranjan said.

“Eight to 10 more people are feared to be inside,” he added, speaking from the site, where he said rescue efforts were still under way.

Most of the dead were construction workers, but two small children were also killed as the building came crashing down, he said.

The remaining 14 people freed from the rubble were being treated in hospital, police said.

Ranjan blamed the deadly collapse on weak construction.

“The pillars gave way and it collapsed like a house of cards,” he said, “It was a substandard illegal building.”—AFP