Death toll in India building collapse rises to 42; rescuers say no more voices heard in rubble

In this Tuesday, July 1, 2014 photograph, India’s National Disaster Response Force personnel stand around a man, left, they rescued from beneath the debris of a building that collapsed Saturday on the outskirts of Chennai, India. Rescuers pulled seven more survivors from under the concrete ruins of a collapsed 11-story building on Tuesday, three days after it toppled and killed dozens of people in southern India, officials said. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

NEW DELHI – Rescuers in India have pulled another 13 bodies from the ruins of a collapsed building, bringing to 42 the death toll since the weekend with slim chances of finding more survivors.

Police say 27 people have been rescued so far from under the enormous heap of broken slabs, twisted iron girders and concrete dust in a suburb of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state.

Police Inspector-General Sandeep Rai Rathore said Wednesday that rescuers haven't heard any more voices from the debris since Tuesday. But he hasn't given up hope yet.

Nearly 90 contract workers were in the basement collecting wages when the 11-story building under construction collapsed Saturday night.