Meerut, Sep 15 : The death toll in the building collapse in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut rose to ten, an official said here on Sunday.

Meerut District Magistrate Deepak Meena said the deceased included one man, three women and six children.

Meena said after getting information about the collapse of a three-storey building in the Zakir Colony of Meerut on Saturday, a rescue operation was launched.

When the building collapsed, three people rushed to safety, while 12 were trapped in debris, he said.

The DM said of the 12 individuals trapped in debris, 10 people, including a male, have died.

The bodies have been kept in medical college for post-mortem.

The number of livestock rescued and the fatalities remains unclear so far, he said.

Rescue operations, being carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), will continue till the debris is not cleaned, he said.

As per reports, the incident occurred around 5.15 p.m. on Saturday following which the emergency services were pressed into service.

The owner of the building has been identified as Nafo Alauddin. He ran a dairy from the building.

After the tragic incident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed the officials to reach the spot and expedite the relief work. He also instructed the officials to provide proper treatment to the injured.

Meerut Division Commissioner Selva Kumari J., Senior Superintendent of Police Vipin Tada, and City Superintendent of Police Ayush Vikram Singh were also present at the spot.

This is the major building collapse case in the state in the past few days. On September 7, eight people were killed and 28 others were injured when a three-storey building collapsed in the Transport Nagar area of Lucknow.

/IANS