UP: Death toll in Meerut house collapse rises to 10

Meerut/Lucknow (UP), Sep 15 (PTI) The death toll in the collapse of a three-storey house in Zakir Nagar here has risen to 10 while the rescue work at the site is still underway, the district administration said on Sunday.

District Magistrate Deepak Meena said a process is underway to provide financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh for each deceased from the natural calamity fund and Rs 1.20 lakh for the house being completely damaged.

Action is also being taken to provide financial assistance to the affected family for the animals that died in the incident, he said.

The Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress expressed deep sorrow over the house collapse and demanded that the government provides proper compensation to the affected family.

Meanwhile, the district administration released a new list of the deceased on Sunday afternoon. According to it, those who died in the incident have been identified as Naffo alias Nafias (65), her son Sajid (40), Saima (35) the wife of Sajid; Sania (15) (Sajid’s daughter), Saqib (12) (Sajid’s son); Farhana (27), Alisa (25), Ria (10), Himsa (6 months) and Saifiyan (7).

Those who survived are Samrin (4), Naeem (22), Nadeem (26), Saqib (20) and Aliya (8), the district administration said, adding they are undergoing medical treatment.

The three-storey house collapsed on Saturday afternoon, trapping 15 people under the debris.

“When the rescue operation started, the relatives gave information about 15 people. Three managed to escape when the building was collapsing,” the district magistrate told reporters.

“The death toll stands at 10 while five persons are alive. The rescue operations will continue till the entire debris is removed,” the officer said.

“The bodies have been kept at the medical college and a post-mortem examination is being conducted,” he said.

Senior officials, including Meerut Zone Additional Director General of Police D K Thakur, Divisional Commissioner Selva Kumari J, Inspector General of Police Nachiketa Jha and Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada, reached the spot to monitor the rescue operation.

The NDRF, fire brigade and police teams are engaged in the rescue operation.

The Samajwadi Party, in a post in Hindi on X, said, “Ten people died after being buried under the rubble when a three-storey building collapsed in Meerut. Very sad! May God give peace to the departed souls. Wishing the injured a speedy recovery. The government should give proper compensation to the victim families!”

The Congress’ Uttar Pradesh unit too took to X to express sadness over the deaths in the incident.

“We pray for peace to all deceased. We request the state government to provide adequate compensation to the families of the deceased and arrange for free proper treatment for the people injured in the incident,” it said.