India: at least 12 killed in Secunderabad building collapse

The wall of a two-storey hotel collapsed in the southern Indian city of Secunderabad today, killing at least 12 injuring 18 others, police officials said.

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SECUNDERABAD, INDIA // The wall of a two-storey hotel collapsed in the southern Indian city of Secunderabad today, killing at least 12 injuring 18 others, police officials said.

More people were feared trapped in the debris of the City Light hotel in a suburb of the city of Hyderabad, police officer Anurag Sharma said.

Mr Sharma said rescue operations were continuing at the hotel, which was about 80 years old.

The hotel was located in the Secunderabad suburb of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state.

"The building was very old and the walls showed cracks, according to people working nearby," police official B Surender said.

Rescue workers used diggers, cranes and electric cutters to try to clear the debris, as family members of the hotel workers waited at the site for news.

Several buildings have collapsed in India in recent months, many of them apartment blocks in the financial capital Mumbai, including one in April that killed 74 people.

The collapses have highlighted pervasive poor construction standards in the country, where massive demand for housing and endemic corruption often result in illegal buildings and a lack of safety inspections.