At least 10 persons were killed and over a dozen feared trapped when a three-storey building crashed at Bhiwandi town in Thane district in the early hours of Monday.

The tragedy caught the residents in sleep when the three-storey structure in Patel Compound abruptly collapsed around 3.45 am. Rescue teams of Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation and National Disaster Response Force have reached the site. At least 25 persons have been rescued, while another dozen persons are feared trapped under the debris. Nine persons have sustained injuries.

"Death toll rises to ten in Bhiwandi building collapse incident...," Thane Municipal Corporation PRO said earlier today. "At least 20-25 people are feared to be trapped, as per initial information," NDRF said. "NDRF teams on-site, 20-25 feared trapped (TBC)... CANINE SEARCH ON... Technical search on... More #NDRF teams en route... details follow," DG NDRF Satya Narayan Pradhan said in a tweet.

(With inputs from IANS)