At least 21 people were killed and 20 others were injuredwhen the roof of a shelter at a cremation ground in the Mudranagar city of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, police officials said.

The roof collapsed when over 25 people had taken shelter at the structure while it was raining.

Most of the people who had taken shelter were relatives of Ram Dhan, who was being cremated at that time.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been rushed at the spot to carry out the rescue work.

Apart from the 21 dead, 20 others were admitted at different hospitals, officials said Sunday evening.

They added that the number of the injured could be higher as some others were taken away from the site by their relatives.

Rescue operations are still on with the police and the fire department being present at the site. Several others are still feared trapped.

Hours later, rescue workers were still going through the rubble to locate more victims, Ghaziabad (Rural) Superintendent of Police Iraj Raja said. Several people are admitted at hospitals.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives in the incident.

The chief minister directed officials to give financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased, a statement issued by the state government said.

The chief minister also directed the Divisional Commissioner of Meerut and ADG Meerut zone to submit a report in this connection.

Union minister V K Singh, who is a Member of Parliament from Ghaziabad, and several senior police and administration officials visited the accident site.

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Atul Garg, who is the local BJP MLA, met some of the injured at the government hospital in Ghaziabad.