NEW DELHI: Amid the chaos and anxiety after the collapse, Virendra Kumar was desperately searching for his brother, Pankaj, who had been working in the building that collapsed in the Chawri Bazar area.
Hoping to find some information about his brother’s whereabouts, Kumar said the family had been planning to return to their native village in Bihar after Diwali. The trip was something they had been looking forward to, but the incident has left the family’s plans hanging in the balance.
Pankaj, the eldest among the five brothers, had been living in Delhi for the past 20 years. He was engaged in construction work and had been working at the site for about the last couple of months. He used to leave for work early in the morning and return home around 7 in the evening.
“Around 10 am, one of Pankaj’s colleagues informed me about the building collapse and told me that the building where my brother was working had collapsed. I immediately tried calling him, but his phone was switched off. I then rushed to the spot and searched for him everywhere, but despite repeated efforts, I could not find any trace of him,” Kumar said.
Pankaj’s family includes his wife, a son and two daughters who are now gripped by anxiety and uncertainty, desperately trying to ascertain Pankaj’s whereabouts and his condition. They were looking forward to returning to their native village to celebrate Chhath Puja. However, the incident occurred just days before the festival, turning their plans into a nightmare.
The locals stated that the construction work had been going on for the past two to three months, and the third floor of the building was being constructed.
“On Thursday morning, the entire building suddenly collapsed. Some labourers were present inside the building at the time of the incident. Two workers were rescued initially. One of them was seriously injured and was bleeding profusely, while the other appeared to have died,” Mohammad Ifran said.
Asad Khan, another local resident, stated that no family members were present at the building, as only labourers were working there. “So far, we have received confirmation of two fatalities in the incident. We hope that the death toll does not rise and that no more lives have been lost. Our priority remains to ensure that everyone who may still be trapped under the debris is rescued safely. We are hopeful that the ongoing rescue operations will not uncover any further casualties,” Khan stated.