Fourteen people, mostly labourers, were killed and several others injured, when the roof of a cold storage unit collapsed in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal district, about 400 kilometres from here.
Though the mishap occurred on Thursday evening, the bodies of the dead and the others, who sustained injuries, could be pulled out of the debris only on Friday night, according to the police sources here.
The owners of the cold storage, identified as Ankur Agarwal and Rohit Agarwal were arrested from Haldwani town in the neighbouring state of Uttarakhand on Saturday following the registration of an FIR under different sections of the IPC.
Sources said that the roof of the cold storage in Chandausi town in the district caved in while sacs of potatoes were being kept on the racks. Several people, including labourers and farmers, were buried under the debris following the collapse.
''There were around 25 people inside the cold storage building when the roof caved in giving them no chance......hundreds of sacs filled with potatoes also fell on them after the collapse,'' said an eye witness.
Rescue teams had a tough time in pulling out the trapped people as they had to cut through the concrete to reach the victims, sources said, adding that the rescue operations continued till Friday night.
Fourteen people were killed in the mishap, a senior official said in Sambhal. ''Eleven people who sustained injuries were admitted to the hospital,'' the official added.
Police said that a case under section 304 A of the IPC (death by negligence) was registered against the owners, who were arrested on Saturday.
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