New Delhi, 25 June (H.S.):

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives in the building collapse incident in West Bengal's capital, Kolkata, and announced ex-gratia assistance from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

In a post on X, Prime Minister Modi said, The accident that occurred in Kolkata yesterday (Wednesday) is extremely tragic. An ex-gratia amount of Rs 2 lakh from the PMNRF will be provided to the next of kin of each deceased victim. The injured will be given Rs 50,000.

The Prime Minister also assured that the state government is working round the clock to ensure all possible assistance for those affected by the tragedy.

Notably, a major accident occurred near Brace Bridge in Kolkata's Taratala area when the roof of an under-construction warehouse collapsed. The structure gave way suddenly on Wednesday during the casting of the third-floor roof slab of the three-storey tea warehouse under construction, trapping several workers beneath the debris.

So far, nine people have lost their lives in the incident, while several others have sustained injuries.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar