New Delhi, Oct 7 (PTI) At least seven people, including a three-year-old child, were injured after a four-storey building collapsed in northeast Delhi’s New Seemapuri area on Wednesday, partially damaging two adjoining houses, police said.
The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) received a call regarding the collapse at around 3.30 pm and rushed fire tenders to the spot. Teams from the Delhi Police, Delhi Disaster Management Authority, National Disaster Response Force and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board have also launched a search and rescue operation.
According to police, the building was constructed on a plot measuring approximately 225 square feet.
“Seven injured people, including a child aged three years, have been rescued. The operation is ongoing, and further details regarding the incident are being ascertained,” a police officer said.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), however, said the collapsed structure was a three-storey building in a jhuggi-jhopri area spread over around 22 square yards in the DUSIB area near Idgah Machhli Mandi.
“Emergency rescue teams, including the Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Police, MCD, DDMA, NDRF and DUSIB, reached the site at around 3.30 pm and immediately initiated search and rescue operations,” the civic body said.
“Eight persons were rescued and sent to hospital. Joint teams of the NDRF, MCD, Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Police and DDMA are currently engaged in clearing the debris and searching the affected area,” it said.
Visuals from the spot showed local residents joining the rescue efforts and clearing debris with their bare hands. They were seen removing bricks and rubble from the collapsed structure and helping those trapped underneath.
In one video, a group of people could be seen pulling a woman out from under the debris and carrying her away in their arms. Several people were also seen crying and appearing distressed near the site.
Heavy machinery, including excavators, was being used to clear large piles of rubble and stones, while paramedics and emergency personnel attended to those rescued and shifted the injured to hospitals. Rescue teams continued searching through the debris for people who may still be trapped.
A local resident said several people had been rescued by residents and taken to hospitals.
“Police came after half an hour. There is a child still trapped, and some have been rescued by people and sent to hospitals. I have given CPR myself. Two to three people have been sent to hospital,” he said.
Locals claimed the building had developed cracks following the tremors felt in Delhi-NCR due to an earthquake in Uttarakhand on Tuesday night. Officials, however, said the actual cause of the collapse will be ascertained after an investigation.
The collapse comes 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 Traffic Police issued an advisory asking commuters to avoid the Seemapuri area as traffic movement was affected around Seemapuri Gol Chakkar, DLF Bhopura and adjoining roads.
It appealed to people not to stop, park or gather near the site and said keeping lanes clear would allow ambulances and rescue vehicles to move faster.
Further details are awaited. PTI SSJ SHB MSJ RHL
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