Lucknow building collapse: Toll rises to 8, CM visits injured at hospital

The death toll in the building collapse here has climbed to eight, with rescuers pulling out three more bodies from the debris, officials said on Sunday.

Joint Commissioner of Police Amit Verma said there is a minimum possibility of someone still being trapped inside.

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

"Met the people injured in the unfortunate building collapse incident in Lucknow at Lokbandhu Shri Rajnarayan Joint Hospital today. Enquired about their well-being and gained information from the doctors about their treatment," he said in a post on X.

"Under the supervision of skilled doctors, proper treatment is being provided to all on top priority. In this difficult time, the Uttar Pradesh Government is standing with 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 condoled the deaths in the incident. He prayed for those who lost their loved ones in the incident and wished a speedy recovery of those injured.

According to a post on X by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the PM has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) and Rs 50,000 for those injured.

A three-storey building in the Transport Nagar area here collapsed on Saturday, leaving 28 people injured, while five bodies were recovered from the spot.

As the rescue operation continued overnight, 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), Relief Commissioner G S Naveen said.

The eighth body was recovered around 3 am on Sunday, officials said.

Joint Commissioner of Police Verma said, "We are now focusing on ensuring that no one else is trapped under the rubble."

"NDRF and SDRF teams are removing the debris and that will take time. The possibility of someone still inside the debris is lower. Had there been someone, their family members would have contacted us by now," he said.

Police said the building was constructed around 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 pm on Saturday.

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

According to the officials, the building had a motor workshop and warehouse on the ground floor, a medical godown on the first floor and a cutlery warehouse on the second floor.

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

"We came down to the ground floor because it was raining. We noticed that a crack had developed on a pillar of the building. Suddenly, the entire building collapsed on us," he said.