At least one person was killed and two others were critically injured after a six-storey building collapsed in Delhi’s Satya Niketan area on Sunday afternoon, with several people feared trapped beneath the rubble.
Delhi Police said six people had so far been rescued and taken to nearby hospitals, while search and rescue operations were continuing.
The building, which operated as a 75-bed paying guest accommodation, collapsed at around 1:30pm, according to officials. Its owner reportedly lives in Gurugram.
Located near Delhi University’s South Campus, Satya Niketan is home to a large number of students.
Police said preliminary inquiries indicated that the building was around 40 to 50 years old. It had a basement and five floors above ground and was being used as a PG facility. Repair work was reportedly underway in the basement when the structure collapsed.
Teams from Delhi Police, the National Disaster Response Force, Delhi Fire Service and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority were deployed at the scene. Fire engines and CATS ambulances also joined the operation, while senior police officials were overseeing the rescue efforts.
An eyewitness estimated that around 50 students may have been inside the building when it collapsed. As it was Sunday, many of them were reportedly in their rooms.
A student at the scene told ANI that he could hear people calling for help from beneath the debris. Another eyewitness said the building housed male students and was known as “Hostel Daze.”
Videos from the scene showed a large crowd gathered around the collapsed structure as firefighters searched through the debris. Some local residents were also seen manually clearing rubble before heavy rescue equipment arrived.
In one video circulating online, a person appeared trapped beneath a concrete slab while several people attempted to lift it.
At least 12 fire tenders were sent to the site. An excavator was brought in, while additional heavy machinery was being arranged to remove concrete slabs and metal girders. Disaster response personnel were also assisting firefighters, and riot-control teams were deployed to help manage the crowd.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said she was deeply concerned about the incident and that rescue operations were being conducted on a war footing.
She said the adjoining building had been evacuated as a precaution and assured that all possible measures were being taken to rescue those trapped and provide immediate support to affected families.
Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu also directed the relevant agencies, including the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service and DDMA, to coordinate closely and speed up rescue efforts.
Local BJP MLA Anil Sharma, who was present at the site, said some students were still believed to be trapped inside and that some had reportedly been making phone calls from beneath the debris.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that corruption and lapses in building safety oversight were responsible for the incident. He compared the collapse to a previous building accident in Saket and alleged that such incidents would continue unless structural and administrative shortcomings were addressed.
Source: NDTV