Two shoppers were killed when a metal grill fell on them from the ceiling of a five-storey shopping mall in India on Sunday afternoon.

The men were with relatives walking around the Galaxy Blue Sapphire Mall in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, when the item plunged from the roof and knocked them to the ground.

Paramedics pronounced them dead at the scene while at least two other injured people were rushed to hospital for treatment. Authorities identified the victims as Shakeel Khan, 34, from Ghaziabad, and Harendra Bhati, 35, of Ghaziabad.

Onlookers told local media that the moment the catastrophe happened, shoppers scrambled to safety as they saw several people coming under the crashing ceiling grill.

Footage from the scene showed victims lying on the ground as frightened staff removed one of the dead men. Initially, one worker hesitated to move the body, concerned that debris might fall on him during the process.

The footage also captured a few children in the vicinity, who were standing near the bodies before fleeing the scene with their parents.

Additionally, the individuals alerted the people on the first floor in case the debris fell again.

'Move away, move away,' a man shouted.

Police officer Hirdesh Katheriya said the incident happened at around 12:30 pm local time but police only received the first report at 1 pm from a private hospital.

Based on the preliminary inquiry, Inspector Katheriya maintained that an iron grill from the mall's fifth level fell on Harendra and hit the victims as they were heading upstairs on an escalator.

He said: 'Initial investigation revealed that Harendra and Shakeel were going upstairs and were supposed to take the escalator when an iron grill from the 5th floor of the mall fell on them.

'The bodies were sent for autopsy and reports are awaited. A heavy police force has been deployed and further courses of action are underway.'