1 killed, 4 injured as portion of metro station caves in; DMRC orders probe
NEW DELHI: A 53-year-old man was killed and four others sustained injuries after a 50-metre-wide portion of a Delhi Metro station in northeast Delhi collapsed on them on Thursday morning, a senior police officer said.
The deceased, identified by cops as Vinod Kumar Pandey, from Sultanpur in UP, is survived by his wife and three children. The injured have been identified as Ajit Kumar, Monu, Sandeep and Mohd Tazir.
The incident took place around 11 am when a portion on the eastern side of Gokalpuri Metro Station’s boundary wall on the Pink Line collapsed, the official said.
According to viral videos recorded by onlookers, boulders could be seen falling off the metro station from a height of around 15-20 metres.
Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg informed that they received a call around 11.10 am. The police also received an emergency call about the incident around the same time. A team rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area.
“When police personnel reached at the accident site they found one person was trapped under the debris and was grievously injured, while others had sustained minor injuries,” DCP (Northeast) Joy Tirkey said.
The DCP said cops with managed to extract the person who was trapped under the debris and rushed him to GTB Hospital where he was declared as “brought dead”.
Cops lodge FIR
The Delhi Police registered an FIR at the Gokulpuri police station under IPC sections against the metro contractors and builders for the alleged negligence. Metro services were disrupted at the Gokulpuri Metro Station for around 150 minutes and resumed around 2.30 pm.
2 officials suspended
Two DMRC officials have been suspended for negligence. DMRC announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 5 lakh for grievous injury and Rs 1 lakh for minor injury.