Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday, expressed condolence and announced immediate relief for the victims of the cold storage collapse incident in Sambhal, which killed eight people.

As per an official statement, the Uttar Pradesh government will give Rs 2 lakhs each to families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to those seriously injured. In addition, it has also been announced that all the injured will be given free treatment. A committee has also been formed under the chairmanship of the Commissioner and the DIG, which will investigate the causes of the incident and give a report soon, the statement added.

Earlier in the day, CM Yogi expressed condolence over the deaths in the roof collapse incident.

Taking to Twitter, CM Yogi said, “The loss of lives in the cold store accident at Chandausi in Sambhal district is extremely painful. My condolences are with the bereaved families. May Lord Shri Ram grant the departed souls a place at his holy feet and strength to the family members to bear this immense sorrow.

Om Shanti!”

A total of eight people were killed, while 11 have been rescued so far, after the roof of potato cold storage collapsed in the Chandausi area of Sambhal, informed officials.

The incident happened at around 11: 30 am on Thursday.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams are carrying out rescue operations.

Sambhal DM Manish Bansal told ANI that the officials are using sniffer dogs to search for the people trapped in the debris.

“We have rescued 11 people and five people have died. NDRF is searching for the trapped people with the help of sniffer dogs. We’ve increased our force for the morning. Other teams of NDRF and SDRF will also come by morning,” he said.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Sambhal, Chakresh Mishra said that FIR has been registered against the owner.

“FIR registered against the owner and two others. We have detained four people for questioning. The main accused are absconding and are being searched. We will be able to tell the real reason for the collapse of this building only after the debris is removed,” he said. Earlier in the day, it was reported that the godown was already in a dilapidated condition.

The owners were identified as Ankur Agarwal and Rohit Agarwal.

Moradabad DIG had said that both the owners had been booked by the police.

“An FIR has been registered in the matter. Two accused (Ankur Agarwal and Rohit Agarwal) have been booked under section 304. Both the accused are the owners of the property where the incident took place,” he said.

The DIG added, “ADM-level inquiry has also been conducted in this matter. The part of the cold storage that has collapsed was constructed some time ago and was not constructed by following the laid down standard”.

Further details are awaited in the case.