Lucknow building collapse: 3 more bodies recovered, death toll climbs to 8

The death toll in the Lucknow building collapse rose to eight after rescuers recovered three more bodies from the debris on Sunday morning. 28 people have been injured in the incident.

The collapsed building, located in the Transport Nagar area, housed godowns and a motor workshop.

The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) recovered the bodies of Raj Kishore (27), Rudra Yadav (24), and Jagrup Singh (35) during the rescue operation, according to Relief Commissioner G S Naveen, reported PTI.

A senior district administration official said that the focus is now on ensuring no one else remains trapped under the rubble.

The rescue operation is ongoing.

What happened?

The building, identified as the ‘Harmilap Building’, was used as a warehouse for a pharmaceutical business. The collapse occurred around 5 pm on Saturday.

The police reported that the building, constructed about four years ago, was undergoing some construction work at the time of the collapse. Most of the victims were working on the ground floor when the incident happened. The injured have been taken to various hospitals, including Lok Bandhu Hospital.

Officials said that the building housed 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 is among the injured, said that a pillar in the building had developed a crack. “We had come 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 was quoted as saying by PTI.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed district officials to accelerate relief efforts and ensure that those injured in the incident are immediately taken to the hospital and given appropriate medical care.“UP CM Yogi Adityanath has taken cognizance of the building collapse incident in Transport Nagar, Lucknow,” the Uttar Pradesh chief minister’s office (CMO) wrote on X.

“The chief minister has directed the district administration officials, SDRF, and NDRF teams to reach the site and expedite the relief work, ensuring that the injured are immediately taken to the hospital for proper treatment. He also wished for the speedy recovery of the injured,” it said.

Meanwhile, the defence minister and Lok Sabha MP from Lucknow, Rajnath Singh, has expressed his sorrow over the deaths.

Taking to X, Singh said, “The news of the collapse of a building in Lucknow is extremely painful. I have spoken to the District Magistrate of Lucknow over the phone and got information about the situation at the spot. The local administration is carrying out relief and rescue operations on the spot and is engaged in helping the victims in every possible way.”