LUCKNOW: At least three people were killed and dozens were feared trapped after a four-storey building collapsed in India, officials said on Tuesday.

The state’s deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak said three people had been killed in the accident in the northern city of Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh state.

The state’s director general of police (DGP) said the collapse appeared to be the effect of an earthquake that occurred earlier in the day. A 5.8 magnitude earthquake struck western Nepal on Tuesday afternoon, around 440 kilometres from Lucknow.

“30-35 people must be trapped,” DGP Director General of Intelligence Devendra Singh Chauhan told reporters.

Teams of police, National Disaster Response Force were looking for those trapped under the debris, Chauhan added.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s office tweeted that “hospitals have been instructed to remain alert”.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2023