Two people were killed and 40 more were trapped after a four-storey building collapsed in Mumbai on Tuesday, police said.

The residential building in the crowded neighbourhood of Dongri, which was flooded during recent monsoon rains, crashed just before Tuesday at noon.

Disaster response force workers rescued five people – including a baby – from the debris.

The residential building in the crowded neighbourhood of Dongri was flooded during recent monsoon rains.

AAP

Bodies of two women were recovered from the rubble, local police officer Sandeep Bagdikar said from the site by phone.

Disaster relief teams were finding it difficult to move in equipment and vehicles as narrow lanes restricted access to the site.

At least 15 families lived in the building which was almost 100 years old, state chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters.

The area which houses many dilapidated buildings was flooded during heavy rains in past weeks, which could have weakened the foundations of the structure, domestic media reported.

Disaster response force workers have so far rescued five people – including a baby – from the debris.

AAP

“We heard a loud noise. Everybody shouted, ‘building is falling, building is falling’. I ran. It felt like a big earthquake,” a witness told broadcaster NDTV.

Building and wall collapses occur more frequently in India during the heavy rains of the monsoon season.

Fourteen people including army soldiers were killed in a building collapse in the northern town of Solan during heavy rains on Sunday.