NEW DELHI: A four storey under-construction building in north Delhi’s Malkaganj area collapsed on Monday morning, killing two children who were passing by and got trapped under the debris.
An elderly man, who owned a paan shop in the single-storey building adjacent to the collapsed structure, sustained serious injuries and is undergoing treatment at Bada Hindu Rao Hospital.
Police said the two children, siblings, have been identified as Saumya (12) and Prashant (8), residents of Roshana Road. They were passing by the building with their mother when the tragedy occurred.
“The paan shop in the single-storey building also came down due to the impact. While the two children were caught under the debris, their mother had a miraculous escape. The kids were on way to meet their father who works in a shop at Sadar Bazar. They were critically injured when rescued from the rubble and later succumbed to injuries,” said a senior police official.
The incident took place at 11.50 am.
“As we received call about the house collapse, five fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Later, two more fire tenders were sent and about 32 fire fighters engaged in search and rescue operation,” said Atul Garg, director, Delhi Fire Department. Neighbours also helped in clearing the debris.
Besides the Fire department, SDM, Delhi Police officers including DCP (North) Anto Alphonse, MCD officials, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other officials concerned reached the spot.
Meanwhile, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, “The building collapse incident at Sabji Mandi area is very saddening. District magistrate is engaged in rescue and relief operation. I am personally monitoring the situation through the district magistrate.”
Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal also took to Twitter and paid condolences to the tragedy-struck family.
Senior officials said a businessman recently bought the collapsed building and was planning to set up a shop on the ground floor.
The upper floors were residential. Some renovation works, including drilling and digging, were also taking place at the building.
A family which was using the first, second and third floors was not present at the time of incident.
A fire department official said it was an old building and under construction.
“The collapse could also be the side effect of rain. The continuous rains in the last three days could have weakened the dilapidated building. An investigation is undergoing,” he said.
The search and rescue operation went on till 7.00 pm.
“An FIR has been filed against the house owner under various IPC sections,” said a senior police officer.
Meanwhile, the North MCD has ordered a probe into the incident and decided to reassess condition of all dangerous buildings across its six zones.