9 killed in house collapses, wall cave-ins amid heavy rain in Uttar Pradesh

The deadliest incident occurred on the intervening night of August 5 and 6, when a nearly 100-year-old house collapsed in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh district as seven members of a family slept inside.

In Short

• A century-old house in Pratapgarh collapsed around 2 am, killing six
• Aman survived the collapse, crawled out, and alerted neighbours and police
• In Barabanki, a weakened brick wall killed two siblings, injuring three children

At least nine people, including four children and two infants, were killed in separate rain-related incidents across Uttar Pradesh after heavy rainfall triggered house and wall collapses in Pratapgarh, Barabanki and Saharanpur.

The worst-hit was Pratapgarh, where six members of a family lost their lives after a nearly century-old house caved in, while two siblings died in a wall collapse in Barabanki and a woman was killed after a mud house collapsed in Saharanpur.

The deadliest incident occurred around 2 am in Mahuli Bazaar, about three kilometres from the Pratapgarh district headquarters, when a nearly 100-year-old house collapsed as seven members of a family were asleep inside.

According to Circle Officer (City) Ashutosh Mishra, six members of the family were killed in the collapse.

The deceased were identified as Pramod Srivastava (60), his wife Rita (55), their son Nitin (25), daughter-in-law Madhuri (24), and Aman's two sons. Aman (28), the family's elder son, survived after crawling out from beneath the rubble and alerting neighbours.

Police, along with fire service personnel and local residents, launched a rescue operation and pulled those trapped under the debris from the collapsed structure. The injured were rushed to the government medical college, where six victims were declared dead.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem examination and further investigation is underway.

In Barabanki district, two siblings were killed and three other children injured after an old brick wall collapsed on them while they were playing in a village lane in Aliyabad on Thursday morning.

Circle Officer (City) Saurabh Srivastava said five children were caught under the debris when the wall suddenly gave way.

Villagers rescued them and rushed them to the district hospital, where a 7-year-old and his 14-year-old sister were declared dead. The three injured children are undergoing treatment.

Officials have ordered an inquiry into the incident. Villagers alleged the wall had been in a dilapidated condition and had weakened further due to continuous rainfall.

In Saharanpur district, a 35-year-old woman died on Wednesday night after her mud house collapsed in Ghaghreki village amid heavy rain.

Station House Officer Devesh Kumar Sharma said the woman was pulled out from the debris by police and local residents and taken to a primary health centre, where doctors declared her dead. Her body has also been sent for postmortem.

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