Nearly 57 people have been rescued from the collapse site till mid-noon, Deputy Commissioner (Jalandhar) Priyank Bharti said.
At least two persons were killed while several others were feared trapped after a three-storey building of a blanket-manufacturing factory collapsed in Focal Point area near Jalandhar, police said on Monday.
Nearly 57 people have been rescued from the collapse site till mid-noon, Deputy Commissioner (Jalandhar) Priyank Bharti said, quoting personnel from the fire brigade and army who are engaged in the rescue operation.
The entire factory building collapsed at around midnight on Sunday, Bharti said, adding that the cause of the mishap is yet to be ascertained.
Chief of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team Commandant Musaffir said his personnel have traced two bodies in the debris.
Efforts are on to extricate them from the rubble, he added.
Two persons out of those rescued have suffered serious injuries and they have been admitted in the ICU unit of a nearby hospital.
There is, however, no confirmation yet on the exact number of people trapped.
Intermittent rain hampered the rescue operation at the accident site.
Police arrested the factory owner and registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against her.
"We have arrested Sheetal Vij, the factory owner. A case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been registered against Vij," Police Commissioner Gaurav Yadav said.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal ordered a probe by a committee headed by Jalandhar divisional commissioner Anurag Verma.
The state government announced a compensation of Rs two lakh each to the kin of the deceased. It also announced a compensation of Rs 65,000 each to the seriously injured and Rs 45,000 each to injured persons.
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