Building collapse: Death toll rises to nine; one more held

Greater Noida: The death toll in the Greater Noida's Shahberi twin-building collapse incident rose to nine on Thursday. Rescue workers pulled out another body of a middle-aged man from the debris, pushing the death toll to nine, said police officials.

According to the Chief Fire Officer Arun Kumar Singh, the body was pulled out at around 7 am on Thursday and has been identified as Naushad.

"By Wednesday night, the rescue teams managed to retrieve eight bodies while one more has been recovered in the morning. We got the information that there were at least 12 labourers in the under-construction building and all of them were feared trapped under the debris. The rescue operation is underway, and the operation might take another 12-15 hours," said Singh.

Meanwhile, police have managed to arrest the fifth accused in connection with the building collapse from Tigri roundabout on Thursday morning. The arrested accused is one of the 24 persons who has been named in the FIR, said police officials.

"Acting on a tip-off, a police team conducted the raid and arrested the accused who has been identified as Qasim, a real estate agent. The arrested person told the police that he lured the people to buy flats at a cheaper rate," said Akhilesh Tripathi, station house officer of Bisrakh police station.

Meerut Divisional Commissioner Amita C Meshram, who has been appointed by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe into the matter, visited the site on Thursday and assured that no offenders, directly or indirectly connected to the case, will go unpunished.

"The rescue operation is likely to end by Friday. Around 100 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel are working in different shifts. We will ensure that the guilty are punished and strict action is taken against those responsible for the fatal incident," Amita C Meshram said while addressing the media after the inspection. Additional District Magistrate of Gautam Buddha Nagar Kumar Vineet informed that in relation to the building collapse if any person wants to present any evidence, he can present the evidence by calling his office phone number on any of the working day till July 25.

Rescuers have deployed heavy machinery to shift concrete slabs and used drills in a bid to reach people buried under the debris. Sniffer dogs have also been pressed into service.