New Delhi, Delhi, India

Nine bodies have been pulled out of the rubble in Greater Noida's Shahberi village where two buildings collapsed on Tuesday night. 

Advertisment

A six-storey building under construction had collapsed and fallen on an adjacent five-storey building. 

Officials said at least one the buildings was unauthorised. 

Officials added that at least 12 construction workers were in the building under consruction and that all of them are feared trapped. 

Advertisment

A 150 personnel from National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with the police and fire department, are carrying out a search and rescue operation at the site. 

Rescuers have deployed heavy machinery to shift concrete slabs and used drills in a bid to reach people buried under the debris. Sniffer dogs have been deployed to detect any sign of life.

NDRF Director General Sanjay Kumar said the rescuers were exercising caution while operating the machines so that those trapped under the debris were not harmed. 

Advertisment

This was leading to a delay, he said. Kumar added that rescue operations are likely to be completed on Thursday.

The police have arrested four people, including the landowner. Altogether, 24 people have been named in the FIR. Charges include culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Three of those arrested have been identified as landowner Ganga Shankar Dwivedi and brokers Dinesh Singh and Sanjeev Kumar, both residents of Shahberi.

According to the FIR, poor quality material was used in the construction of the building.

In a press statement, Greater Noida Authority CEO Parth Sarthi Sen Sharma said Shahberi is a "notified village" under phase-1 of Greater Noida.

The notification related to acquisition of land there was cancelled by a Supreme Court order in May 2011, he said.

Local residents claimed that some builders had purchased land directly from the farmers and developed an unauthorised colony.

(With inputs from PTI)