Eleven people have been injured and many are still trapped a day after the roof of a cold storage chamber collapsed in chamber located at Indira Nagar road under Chandausi police station area on Thursday. The death toll climbed to eight, the police said on Friday.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each for the deceased and formed a committee to probe the reasons behind it.
Eleven injured are undergoing treatment at a hospital, according to police. They said that the roof was built only three months ago without necessary permission from the administration and potatoes more than the prescribed capacity of the cold storage were stored there.
Superintendent of Police Chakresh Mishra said the death toll due to the roof collapse has risen to eight so far and efforts are being made to identify the victims. He said 11 people were injured in the incident and have been admitted to a hospital.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) began the rescue operation soon after the incident, which continued through the night and was underway even in the morning.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Shalabh Mathur had told reporters late on Thursday night that rescuers were taking precautions as ammonia gas cylinders were kept in the cold storage.
"A case under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code has been lodged against Ankur Agarwal and Rohit Agarwal, owners of the cold storage," he had said.
Chief Medical Officer Tarannum Raza told PTI that 15-20 ambulances and over half a dozen doctors were at the spot to help the injured. Oxygen cylinders have also been arranged. Around six excavators have been pressed into service to clear the debris, officials said.
Sambhal is around 155 km from Delhi and over 350 km from Lucknow, the state capital. The DIG said that some still trapped inside are alerting the rescuers by shouting.
(With inputs from PTI)
