India’s Catholic Bishops' condolences for victims of Mumbai building collapse

08 April, 2013 - India’s Catholic Bishops have expressed their sadness over the death 74 people who were killed after a residential building under construction in the Mumbai suburb of Thane collapsed on Friday. “We offer our deep condolences to the families of those killed in the tragic incident and pray for the many that are injured for their fast recovery,” said a brief condolence message issued by Fr. Dominic D’Abreo, spokesperson of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the apex body of the Catholic Church in the country. The bishops have called upon the authorizes “to strictly enforce all norms and regulations in constructing buildings so that such horrible tragedies are averted.” They appealed to those “engaged in construction industry to keep the safety and security of the people as the foremost value.” “We express our solidarity with the victims of this tragedy and offer moral support to those who are suffering on account of this horrible incident,” the bishops said. Police said on Sunday they have arrested nine people, including builders, police officers and municipality officials, for colluding to illegally construct the eight-story residential building that collapsed. Police commissioner K.P. Raghuvanshi said that police will formally charge the nine with culpable homicide which could end up in life sentence. (Source: CBCI)