At least two people were killed afer a three-storey under-construction building collapsed in Old Delhi's Chawri Bazaar on Thursday morning. Several people remain trapped under the debris and efforts are on to rescue them, officials said.
The incident was reported at around 9.50 am from Gali Sitara, near the Chawri Bazaar Metro station.
Two bodies were pulled out from the debris by a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) rescue team, an official said. Four people had been taken to a hospital by locals before the DFS rescue teams arrived.
The identities of those who died are yet to be ascertained, police said.
"At least 15 people are feared trapped. Several have been injured. We received a call at 9.50 am. Teams from NDMC, Delhi Police, DFS and MCD are involved in the rescue operation," a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official said.
At least six fire units, including water tenders and rescue vehicles, were rushed to the spot following the incident.
Senior officials are supervising the rescue operation, while teams from the Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are involved in efforts to rescue those feared trapped.
The Chawri Bazaar incident comes nearly two months after a five-storey building housing a boys' paying guest accommodation collapsed in southwest Delhi's Satya Niketan on September 6, killing seven people and injuring several others.
The building collapsed while repair work was under way, triggering a major rescue operation involving multiple agencies. The incident had prompted the Delhi government to order structural safety audits and a crackdown on unauthorised and unsafe buildings across the national capital.
Meanwhile, Delhi Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj attacked the Rekha Gupta government and raised questions over building safety audits and alleged corruption in enforcement by civic and other government departments in Delhi.
In a post on X, Bharadwaj wrote, “Another three -storey building collapses at Chawri Bazaar/Chandni Chowk. Many feared trapped under debris. Rekha Gupta’s government and MCD conducted multiple safety audits of all buildings in Delhi, yet buildings keep collapsing. Why?" he said.
He further accused the different departments associated of corruption and alleged that those who refuse to pay bribes get sealed by MCD.
"Safety audits have been ordered repeatedly, but instead of real action, multiple departments collected bribes many times, which is why buildings collapse every month. Earlier, only @DelhiPolice and @MCD_Delhi took bribes; after Rekha Gupta’s government, the Fire Department and SDMs (Revenue Department under her) also started collecting bribes from buildings. Those who refuse to pay bribes get sealed by MCD," he alleged.
"This explains the pick-and-choose enforcement, shocking that two gyms in GK2 market were sealed in a ward while other gyms and commercial buildings stay open in same south zone," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
