The death toll in the two adjacent buildings collapse in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida climbed to nine on Thursday, with five more bodies being recovered from the rubble of the residential apartments early in the day.

An official said the rescue operations were still on in Shahberi village where the incident took place as many people were still feared trapped under the debris.

A six-floor under-construction building had crashed on a five-storey building next to it, bringing it down as well, in Shahberi village under Bisrakh police station on Tuesday.

Six of the deceased were identified as Priyanka Dwivedi (26), Shamshad (25), Ranjeet Bhimali (30), Raj Kumar (50), Shiv Trivedi (28) and Pankhuri (1).

Based on the operation conducted with the help of sniffer dogs, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said, “chances of anybody surviving under the concrete debris were slim” as more than 36 hours had lapsed since the incident.

After ordering an investigation into the incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the bereaved families.

Rescuers deployed heavy machinery to shift concrete slabs and used drills in a bid to reach people buried under the debris. Sniffer dogs tried to detect any sign of life. A crowd of people hung around the mishap site, including some who believed their relatives were trapped under the debris.

Some flat owners who were planning to move into their new homes in the next few days also watched the rescue effort.

Cases have been filed against two dozen persons and four of the accused, including the builder Ganga Sharan Dwivedi, brokers Dinesh and Sanjeev have been arrested. Altogether, 24 people have been named in the FIR. Charges include culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in Greater Noida Development Authoriity, Vibha Chahal, has been removed from her post.

A state government statement said a magisterial probe would find out whether the buildings were under the jurisdiction of the Greater Noida Development Authority and if a no-objection certificate (NOC) was obtained before carrying out the construction.

It will also determine if the quality of the building material was up to the mark and the construction workers were registered in accordance with the labour laws.

(With agency inputs)