2 dead, 7 injured as 4 shops collapse in Agra

Agra: At least two people died and seven others were injured after four shops collapsed in Agra on Saturday. The incident occurred near a police outpost in sector 4 of the Awas Vikas area, under the jurisdiction of Jagdishpura police station.

According to police, the collapse took place between 2:30 pm and 3:00 pm while maintenance work was underway at the shops, in the presence of the shop owners. Locals said that the incident occurred when labourers were removing the intervening wall between the four shops, causing the structure to collapse and trapping at least nine people, including the owners.

Following the collapse, police and fire officials rushed to the scene. Personnel from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were deployed to assist in the rescue operations.

A large crowd gathered as officers, along with local residents, carried out rescue efforts. Nine people were pulled from the rubble and taken to SN Medical College for treatment. Two of the injured — Kishan Chand Upadhyay (65) and Vishnu Upadhyay (55) — succumbed to their injuries during treatment.

The injured were identified as Arjun (28), Sonu (35), Deepak Sain (30), Brijesh, Ajay Chahar, and Pushkar Upadhyay (55). One person is yet to be identified by the police.

Agra's additional police commissioner Sanjeev Tyagi said, "Vishnu Upadhyay and his brothers were carrying out maintenance work at their shops with the help of labourers. During the process, the roof collapsed, trapping nine people, who were later rescued by the police. SHO Jagdishpura, Anand Veer Singh, was also injured during the rescue and has been admitted to the hospital. The search operation is still underway to ensure no one remains trapped in the debris."