The police said that eight people, including four children, were killed and over 12 others injured when a factory wall collapsed in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday.

The police said the incident took place early in the morning at Saraj Majra village, 120 km from the state capital Shimla, when the boundary wall of the factory adjoining a big slum suddenly collapsed during a storm.

“While eight people died on the spot, those injured have been admitted to Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in the neighbouring state at Chandigarh, where they were referred to by a local hospital.

“The death toll may go up later in the day as the condition of some of the injured is serious.

Doctors at the hospital are trying their best to treat the injured,” the police said.

The police said that some senior officials have gone to the area to assess the damage.

A probe had been ordered into the incident to ascertain how the people constructed the illegal slums near the factory.

In May, 26 people were killed and 28 others injured after the wall of a wedding hall collapsed due to heavy rains and thunderstorm in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.

(Xinhua/NAN)