- State rescue teams are searching for bodies using heavy excavators.
- It is unclear whether more people are trapped under the rubble.
- The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh state calls the deaths “heartbreaking.”
NEW DELHI: Indian rescuers pulled eight bodies from the rubble of a three-storey building in the city of Lucknow on Sunday, according to reports, with the state minister calling the deaths “heartbreaking”.
The Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency broadcast images of piles of concrete and state rescue teams with heavy excavators searching for bodies.
The commercial building, which had been used by several small businesses, including as a warehouse and vehicle repair shop, collapsed on Saturday afternoon.
PTI quoted officials as saying that eight bodies had been recovered and 28 people were injured.
It was not clear whether more people were still trapped.
The cause of the collapse is unknown, but building and construction accidents are common during India's June-September monsoon season, when old, rickety structures collapse under days of non-stop rain.
Akash Singh, who worked in the building, said a crack had formed in a pillar.
She had moved to the ground floor for fear that the situation would worsen with the heavy monsoon rains lashing the city.
“Suddenly, the entire building collapsed on us,” Singh was quoted as saying by PTI.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath called the deaths “heartbreaking” in a statement and offered his condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased.
