(Updates death toll)

MUMBAI, July 19 (Reuters) - At least 27 people were crushed to death and several more trapped when an old building collapsed in India's financial capital, police said on Thursday, as rescuers used bulldozers and even bare hands to clear the debris.

The seven-storey building in a crowded northern suburb of Mumbai collapsed late on Wednesday, but rescue workers began pulling out most bodies only early on Thursday.

Police were unsure of how many people lived in the building, but said 25-40 people could still be trapped.

"We got calls from some people trapped under the debris, asking for help," said police officer Shivaji Bodke.

About 15 people had been removed alive, several with serious injuries. Scores of anxious relatives and friends crowded the area where the building went down.

Rescue workers said the dead included two children, adding that the survival chances of those trapped diminished with every hour.

Civic authorities blamed faulty repair work being carried out in the building for the accident.

The building had some shops and a doctor's clinic on the ground floor.

Local residents and rescue workers initially used their bare hands to remove chunks of concrete and iron rods. Later, bulldozers and cranes were moved in.

Old or poorly constructed buildings sometimes crumble in Indian cities during the monsoon rains every year.

In Mumbai, civic authorities, often accused of poorly implementing building codes, maintain a list of dangerous buildings, but the one which crashed down on Wednesday was not on it.

In January, 11 girls were killed when their school residence collapsed in the western state of Gujarat.

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