- Reports say 14 people died after a storage facility collapsed under the weight of sacks of potatoes.
- The state government plans to pay families of the deceased 200,000 rupees, or about $2,400, each.
According to local reports, 14 workers died when a storage facility in India collapsed on Thursday under the weight of numerous sacks of potatoes.
Footage circulating online shows rescue teams searching the debris for survivors buried under piles of potatoes in the Chandausi area of the city of Sambhal, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
While officials initially ruled the death toll to be eight people, the number of deaths climbed to 14 on Friday, the Indian News outlet The Tribune reported.
—BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 17, 2023
The roof of a cold-storage chamber holding the potatoes caved in on Thursday morning, and rescuers pulled two dozen workers from the rubble, The Tribune reported. The country's National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force used sniffer dogs to assist with rescues, and ambulances also assisted the rescue operation.
The police have said that rescuers have found almost all the missing workers.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the situation in a tweet on Friday. "Under the supervision of the state government, the local administration is making all possible efforts for relief and rescue," he wrote.
The chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, tweeted on Friday that he had visited those undergoing treatment for injuries in the hospital.
—Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) March 17, 2023
"All are being treated on priority. May Lord Shri Ram grant speedy recovery to all, this is my prayer," he said.
Adityanath also announced a payment of 200,000 rupees, or about $2,400, for the families of the deceased and 50,000 rupees, or about $600, for those injured, according to The Tribune. Medical treatment for those injured in the accident will also be free, he said.
Previous reports suggest that the roof of the warehouse was already dilapidated, according to the Indian news agency Asian News International. An inquiry into safety protocols and the state of the building is underway, according to Indian authorities, and the police have detained four people for questioning, the news agency reported.