FARIDABAD, India (AFP) — At least five people were killed when a shopping centre caved in Wednesday 9 September in a New Delhi suburb, the local fire department told AFP.

Photo: AFP

Fire fighters brought out at least five crushed bodies from the building in Faridabad's main commercial centre and said an unspecified number of others were injured when the three-storey complex toppled.

"The death toll would have been much higher if the accident had taken place in the peak evening shopping rush," a fire department spokesman added.

An adjoining factory also caved in due to the impact of the collapsed mall, an AFP photographer said as rescuers braving torrential rains rummaged through the debris of the two buildings.

Shopping centres have mushroomed across towns and cities in India, reflecting the growth in the domestic retail sector which boomed on the back of India's ready-to-splurge middle class.