Delhi building collapse claims 3 lives a month after hostel tragedy

Eight of these rescued sustained injuries and were shifted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital in Tahirpur. They were identified as Momin Mirja (56), Abdaan (3), Abdul Rehman (28), Devruddin (28), Salma (50), Chote (34), Sakina (35) and Samad (30).

The incident came a month after a building in southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan came crashing down on September 6, leaving seven people dead and 12 injured.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a call about the collapse around 3.30 pm and rushed fire tenders to the site. Teams from the Delhi Police, MCD, Delhi Disaster Management Authority, National Disaster Response Force and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) joined the rescue operation.

According to the police, the four-storey structure stood on a 225 sq feet plot. The MCD, however, described it as a three-storey building in a “jhuggi-jhopri” area spread over around 22 square yards (198 square feet) in the DUSIB area near Idgah Machhli Mandi. It added that the building was around 20-25 years old and occupied when it collapsed.

Walls of an adjoining building and the boundary wall of a nearby mosque also fell due to the impact. “Eleven people, including a three-year-old child, have been rescued. The operation is ongoing,” a police officer said.

According to local enquiries, families engaged in rag-picking were present and some were collecting plastic and other material when they were trapped under the debris.

Visuals from the site showed residents helping rescue teams clear bricks and rubble with their hands. In one video, a group of people was seen pulling a woman from the debris and carrying her to safety. Excavators were deployed to remove the heavier debris as emergency personnel and paramedics treated and shifted the injured to hospitals. Rescue teams continue to search the rubble for possible survivors.