Seventeen people were killed and several injured when a roof of a shelter at a cremation ground in Uttar Pradesh’s Muradnagar collapsed on Sunday, Ghaziabad police said.
The roof collapsed when over 40 people had taken shelter at the structure while it was raining. Most of them were relatives of Ram Dhan, who was being cremated at that time.
Hours later, rescue workers were still going through the rubble to locate more victims, Ghaziabad (Rural) Superintendent of Police Iraj Raja said. Several people are admitted to nearby hospitals.
Meerut police said that 38 people have been rescued from the rubble, and rescue workers still going on. We’ve started a probe and we’ll take strict action against those found guilty.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been rushed to the spot.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident.
The chief minister directed officials to give financial assistance of ₹2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased, a statement issued by the state government said.
The chief minister also directed the Divisional Commissioner of Meerut and ADG Meerut zone to submit a report in this connection.
