Death toll rises to 8, Prime Minister Adityanath visits injured in hospital

The death toll from the building collapse has risen to eight, with rescue workers recovering three more bodies from the rubble, officials said on Sunday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Amit Verma said there was a minimal chance that someone was still trapped inside.

After returning from Ambedkar Nagar, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath visited Lok Bandhu Hospital to meet those injured in the incident.

“Met the people injured in the unfortunate building collapse in Lucknow today at Lokbandhu Shri Rajnarayan Joint Hospital. Inquired about their welfare and sought updates from the doctors regarding their treatment,” he said in a post on X.

“Under the supervision of experienced doctors, all are being provided proper treatment with utmost priority. During this difficult time, the Uttar Pradesh government is standing by the victims and their families with full readiness and sensitivity. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant speedy recovery to the injured,” the Chief Minister added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his condolences to those who died in the incident. He prayed for those who lost their loved ones in the incident and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

According to a post by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) on X, the Prime Minister has announced an ex-gratia donation of Rs 200,000 from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) along with Rs 50,000 for the injured.

On Saturday, a three-storey building collapsed in the Transport Nagar district. 28 people were injured and five bodies were recovered from the scene.

As the rescue operation continued through the night, teams of the National Disaster Response (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) recovered three bodies, identified as Raj Kishore (27), Rudra Yadav (24) and Jagrup Singh (35), Assistant Commissioner GS Naveen said.

The eighth body was recovered around 3 a.m. Sunday, officials said.

“Our attention now is to ensure that no one else is trapped under the rubble,” said Police Commissioner Verma.

“NDRF and SDRF teams are clearing the debris and it will take some time. The chances of anyone still being in the rubble are less. If anyone had been there, their family members would have contacted us by now,” he said.

Police said the building was constructed about four years ago and some construction work was underway at the time of the incident. Most of the victims were working on the ground floor when the incident occurred at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.

The injured were admitted to various hospitals in the district, including Lok Bandhu Hospital.

According to officials, the building contained a car repair shop and warehouse on the ground floor, a medical warehouse on the first floor and a cutlery warehouse on the second floor.

Akash Singh, who worked at the medical camp and was among the injured, said a crack had appeared in a pillar of the building.

“We went down to the ground floor because it was raining. We noticed that a crack had formed on one of the pillars of the building. Suddenly the entire building collapsed on us,” he said.