Kanpur (UP): At least one person was seriously injured when a three-storey dilapidated residential building collapsed in a congested area here on Monday night, police said.
Panic gripped Coolie Bazar area at Badshahi Naka after rumours that several people residing in the building were feared to be trapped under the debris, the Kanpur Police public relations officer said.
A rescue operation was launched, and a person trapped under the debris has been rescued and immediately rushed to a hospital. Top police officers, including Kanpur Deputy Inspector General Preetinder Singh, rushed to the spot to supervise the operation, according to the official.
"The building was very old and there was digging going on in the vicinity, due to which the building collapsed," Inspector General Mohit Agarwal told reporters. "There are no chances of anyone being buried under the debris because families living in the building had left."
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Rescue and relief efforts are going on and the debris is being removed, the officer said.
District Magistrate of Kanpur Alok Tiwari told PTI that no one seemed to be trapped inside now, "but nothing can be said with certainty". He added that a National Disaster Response Force team had been called for the rescue operation.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to provide adequate treatment to the injured, a government spokesperson said.
PTI
