At least four people were killed and 20 injured when a four-storey building in a posh locality in Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad town collapsed on Wednesday morning.
Several people were trapped under the debris of the building under construction belonging to a ruling Samajwadi Party leader in the upscale Civil Lines area of Allahabad, about 200 km from here.
The victims were labourers and had laid out the roof only an hour earlier when the building caved in around 7.30 a.m.
According to eyewitnesses, work had continued through the night as the building owner, Samajwadi Party leader Jamil Ahmad, was in a hurry to complete the construction.
Allahabad district police chief BD Paulson said 20 people had been hospitalised with serious injuries.
"Rescue teams are on the job and we hope to dig out those trapped under the debris," he said, adding that at least six people might be buried.
District magistrate Amrit Abhijat said: "We cannot say how and why the building collapsed, but prima facie there is reason to believe that there was something wrong with the construction work."
He said the administration had sought army assistance to carry out the rescue operations.
{{/usCountry}}He said the administration had sought army assistance to carry out the rescue operations.
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