Five bodies have been recovered by Wednesday evening after a six-storey under-construction building collapsed on an adjacent four-storey structure in Greater Noida’s Shah Beri village the previous night, reported the Hindustan Times. Dozens of labourers are still said to be trapped under the rubble.
The police have arrested four people, ANI reported. This includes the owner of the land, Gangashankar Dwivedi, and two associates, according to PTI. Gautam Budh Nagar District Magistrate BN Singh has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and a report on the buildings within 15 days.
A first information report has been filed under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code at the Bisrakh police station against 18 people, Inspector General of Police (Meerut Zone) Ram Kumar said.
Four teams of the National Disaster Response Force and the police are involved in the rescue operations, NDRF Deputy Commandant RS Kushwaha told ANI. Sniffer dogs are being used in the operations to trace people trapped under the debris.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath has directed the district administration of Gautam Budh Nagar, and officials to provide medical facilities and assistance to the injured. The chief minister announced a compensation package of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of each of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to those who sustained injuries in the incident, ANI reported.
“Locals have told us that the building that collapsed was constructed two years ago [and] many flats in it were not occupied,” said District Magistrate BN Singh. “Investigation will be carried out in this matter,” he said.
Union minister Mahesh Sharma told ANI that 12 ambulances were stationed at the site and all hospitals nearby have been alerted.
S Dubey, a resident of the locality, said a group of residents had approached the local administration regarding the construction in the area. “We met MLA of Tejpal Nagar who wrote to them [local administration] to take action but nothing was done,” he said. He alleged that the construction of the building was illegal and neither the builder nor government authorities were looking into it.
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