Students trapped under the debris of a five-storey building that collapsed in south Delhi’s Satya Niketan area on Sunday afternoon were making calls from beneath the rubble, as rescue teams raced to pull them out.
BJP MLA Anil Sharma, who reached the site, said teams were in contact with some of those trapped inside and that several people were believed to be still under the debris.
“We are even getting calls from those who are trapped inside. Teams are continuously in touch with those who are trapped inside; we pray to god that all people are safe,” Sharma said.
Locals said around 30 to 50 students could be trapped inside the building, which housed a paying guest accommodation. Several people had already been rescued from the rubble as emergency teams continued their search.
The collapse triggered panic in the densely populated neighbourhood, with residents rushing out of nearby buildings after what some described as a “sudden tremor”.
The five-storey structure, identified by locals as Hostel Daze, came down with a loud crash, leaving a mound of concrete and debris where the PG accommodation had stood.
With rescue teams yet to reach all parts of the structure, residents initially used their bare hands and whatever tools they could find to clear the debris and look for survivors.
A local resident, Rajen Chhetri, who works with the Delhi Police told PTI that the building had around 15 rooms, with two to three students staying in each room. He said repair or construction work was underway in the basement and alleged that water had accumulated there.
“Most of the students staying here are from Keralam, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and study mainly at Motilal Nehru College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College and Sri Venkateswara College. They were paying around Rs 12,000 per bed,” Chhetri told PTI.
“I have been living here for the last 20 years. Some construction work was going on in the basement, where water had started accumulating. The foundation was also extremely weak,” he said.
Police said a PCR call was received at the South Campus police station at 1.34 pm, following which eight fire tenders and multiple rescue teams were rushed to the spot.
“We felt a slight tremor in our house. It felt like the ground shook, like an earthquake. We ran outside,” a resident told PTI.
The resident said people began clearing the debris themselves in the initial moments after the collapse and alleged that the adjoining building also appeared to be leaning.
Another resident said around 35 to 40 students were staying on the upper floors and some of them were sleeping when the building collapsed. He said construction work was being carried out in the basement and that he had managed to step out only minutes before the structure came down.
“As soon as I came out, the whole thing collapsed,” he said.
Another resident said his nephew had narrowly escaped after crossing the building on his bike moments before it collapsed. The structure came down immediately after he passed, he said, quoting his nephew as saying, “It was a matter of seconds.”
Residents said many students had remained inside the PG as it was Sunday and some had not gone to college. They also said several of those staying there were from Kerala.
Priyanka, who said she had lived in the area for more than two decades, said several residential properties in Satya Niketan had been converted into boys’ PGs.
“Many houses have been converted into boys’ PGs, with the owners shifting elsewhere. They simply name the properties as PGs, take the rent online and leave them to operate,” she said.
She alleged that the collapsed PG was more than 20 years old and had not undergone maintenance in years.
“The whole of Satya Niketan is full of PGs, and hardly 30 per cent of the house owners actually live here,” she said.
“Even the gutters and sewers here are open. There were many students trapped inside the building. Since it was raining, most of them were in their rooms, while some had gone home as it was the weekend,” Priyanka said.
Another resident called for structural verification of buildings in the area, questioning how five-storey structures with basements had been allowed in the residential locality.
Rescue operations were continuing as teams searched through the debris for those still trapped inside.
(With inputs from PTI)
