Death toll rises to 8 after three more bodies recovered, several still trapped

Building collapse in Lucknow: The death toll in the building collapse in Lucknow rose to eight after rescue workers recovered three more bodies from the rubble, officials said on Sunday. At least 28 other people were injured when a three-story building containing warehouses and an auto repair shop collapsed in Transport Nagar district of the capital of India's Uttar Pradesh state on Saturday evening.

#UPDATE | Death toll in Lucknow building collapse rises to 8

28 people were injured in the incident; a rescue operation is underway pic.twitter.com/ZoexUAIrV9

— ANI (@ANI) 8 September 2024

Teams from the fire service, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are on site and are carrying out relief and rescue operations. The administration is ensuring that no one is trapped under the rubble. Senior police and administrative officials are also on site to oversee the rescue operations.

#REGARD | Building collapse in Lucknow | Rescue operations to evacuate the trapped people are underway.

Fire brigade, SDRF team and NDRF teams are on site pic.twitter.com/okntn9SF3p

— ANI (@ANI) 7 September 2024

The injured have now been admitted to various hospitals in the district, including Lok Bandhu Hospital, according to the office of the Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner.

According to police, it was a relatively new building constructed about four years ago. The ground floor housed a motor workshop and warehouse, the first floor a medical warehouse and the second floor a cutlery warehouse. Some construction work was still underway at the time of the incident and most of the victims were working on the ground floor when the building collapsed at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.

Quoting survivor Akash Singh, who worked at the hospital camp and was among the injured, news agency PTI reported that a pillar of the building had developed a crack. “We had gone to the ground floor because it was raining. We noticed that a pillar of the building had developed a crack. Suddenly the entire building collapsed on us,” he said.

Condolences are received

Defence Minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh spoke to the district magistrate about the incident and took stock of the relief efforts and treatment of the injured. “My deepest condolences go out to the grieving families of those who lost their loved ones in this accident. At the same time, I wish a speedy recovery to all the injured,” he posted on X.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also taken note of the situation and is closely monitoring the rescue efforts. He has also issued instructions to ensure free treatment to the injured.