A section of a seven-storied building collapsed in Mumbai, India's financial center, with the death toll rising to 24, the New Delhi Television reported on Thursday.

According to the report, the building suddenly collapsed on Wednesday evening, and around 40 more people are still believed to be trapped under the debris.

The injured people were sent to the nearby hospital, and four of them were in critical conditions.

Fire officials said the rescue work is likely to continue for two more days. "Our personnel will remain on the spot till the last of the missing person is pulled out of the debris," an official said.

According to the local police, the ground floor houses commercial establishments, and the other six floors are mainly for the residents, where 12 families were living.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2007)