UP: Death toll in cold storage roof collapse rises to 8, CM sets up probe panel

PTI, Mar 17, 2023, 11:07 AM IST

As the death toll in a roof-collapse incident at a cold storage in Sambhal climbed to eight on Friday, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each for the deceased and formed a committee to probe the reasons behind it.

Eight people have so far died in Thursday’s roof-collapse incident at the cold storage chamber located on the Indira Nagar road within the Chandausi police station limits, Deputy Inspector General of Police Shalabh Mathur said.

According to a government spokesperson in Lucknow, the chief minister has announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 50,000 for those critically injured and free treatment for all those who sustained injuries in the incident.

Adityanath has also constituted a probe committee led by the police commissioner and the DIG, Moradabad to probe the reasons behind the roof collapse. The committee has been asked to submit its report at the earliest, the spokesperson said.

The chief minister has expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident and directed the officials concerned to ensure proper treatment of the injured, he added.

Sambhal District Magistrate Manish Bansal said 17 people have been rescued, of whom five are undergoing treatment in a Moradabad hospital while six were discharged after medical aid.

The rescue operations, in which the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are also involved, continued through the night and are still on, he said.

Searchlights have been installed in the area for the rescue operation in which JCB machines are also being used to remove the debris.

According to police, the collapsed roof was built only three months ago without the necessary permission from the administration and the quantity of potatoes stored at the cold storage was beyond its prescribed capacity.

Mathur told reporters late on Thursday night that rescuers were taking precautions as ammonia gas cylinders were kept in the cold storage.

”A case under section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been lodged against Ankur Agarwal and Rohit Agarwal, the owners of the cold storage,” the DIG had said.