NEW DELHI: A multi-storey residential building collapsed at Shakti Vihar in northeast Delhi’s Mustafabad early Saturday, leaving 11 people dead and 11 injured.
A PCR call was made at the Dayalpur police station at 3.02 am about the building collapse. The cops rushed to the spot to find that a four-storey building, belonging to one Tehseen, had caved in and 22 people were trapped inside, a senior police officer said. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), fire services and ambulances were called for rescue operations.
Tehseen and six of his family were among the 11 who died in the building collapse, the senior officer said.
“We lost an entire generation of our family in just a moment,” said Bhulan, brother of Tehsin, who along with his son, three grandchildren and two daughters-in-law was killed on Saturday. Tahseen lost his son during 2020 riots following the CAA protests. His son’s body was found from a Gokulpuri drain.
On the possible cause of the collapse, sources said that construction work in “two-three shops” on the ground floor could have led to the cave-in.
The MCD said that the building was built in an unauthorised colony. After receiving information, field staff from the building, maintenance and sanitation department rushed to the site, along with JCB machines, the MCD said.
“The property is located in an unauthorised colony characterised by a densely populated area with narrow lanes. As per local inquiry and inputs from police sources, it was found that the property, with an around plot area of 60 square yards, consisted of a ground floor plus three additional storeys. The structure was reported to be around 20 years old and was fully occupied,” the MCD said in a statement.
The field staff in coordination with the police and rescue teams are engaged in clearing the debris from the site as well as surrounding properties, the statement added.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ordered a probe into the incident and expressed grief over the incident. “Orders have been given to investigate the incident and strict action will be ensured against the culprits,” she wrote on ‘X’.
AAP supremo and former CM Arvind Kejriwal also extended his condolences to the bereaved families.