Greater Noida, Jul 19 (IANS): The death toll in the twin-building collapse here in Uttar Pradesh climbed to nine on Thursday, with five more bodies pulled out from the rubble of the residential apartments early in the day.

The rescue operations were still on in the Shahberi village where the crash took place late on Tuesday, an official said.

A rescie personnel told IANS that according to estimates given by neighbours, at least 20 persons are still feared trapped inside.

Six of the deceased have been identified. There is Priyanka Dwivedi, 26, of Mainpuri; Shamshad, 25, of Faizabad; Ranjeet Bhimali, 30, from West Bengal; Raj Kumar,50, Shiv Trivedi,28, and Pankhuri of just 14 months.

A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said based on the operation conducted with the help of sniffer dogs, "chances of anybody surviving under the concrete debris were slim" as more than 36 hours have lapsed since the incident.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the dead.

The District Magistrate of Gautambuddh Nagar (Noida) has already ordered a magisterial probe.

Cases have been filed against two dozen persons and four of the accused, including the builder Ganga Sharan Dwivedi, brokers Dinesh and Sanjeev have been arrested.