NEW DELHI - Rescuers found six bodies and were digging through a mound of rubble after the collapse of two multi-story buildings east of New Delhi, police said Wednesday.
Another four to five people may be trapped under the debris, police officer Akhilesh Tripathi said.
Rescuers had not pulled any survivors from the rubble 24 hours after the clearing operation started.
A six-story building under construction collapsed onto an adjacent four-story apartment building Tuesday night in the Greater Noida area. The second building, ready for move-in, collapsed under the impact of the first building.
More than 100 rescuers with cranes, sledgehammers and chain saws were working to remove the debris in Shahberi village, nearly 40 kilometres (25 miles) east of New Delhi.
The owner of the building under construction and his two associates have been arrested and will face charges of culpable homicide, the Press Trust of India news agency said. The cause of the building collapse was not immediately known.
Chief Fire Officer Arun Kumar Singh said at least 12 workers were in the building under construction at the time of collapse. Only one family had moved a couple of days ago into the apartment building which was otherwise unoccupied.
The clearing work is expected to end by Friday.
Building collapses are common in India during June-September monsoon season, when heavy rains weaken the foundations of structures that are poorly constructed.
A collapse in 2013 killed at least 72 people in Mumbai.