The death toll in the collapse of a commercial building near Saket Metro station in South Delhi rose to six on Sunday. Several others who sustained injurious were rescued and admitted to nearby hospital.
Reportedly, a few of the injured and deceased individuals were preparing for the Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) Examination.
The area wher the building collapsed is a coaching hub of students who prepare for admission in Medical and Engineering studies in foreign countries.
"An FIR has been registered under relevant sections, including culpable homicide, and teams have been constituted to investigate the circumstances that led to the collapse", officials said.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening on Western Marg in the Saidulajab area when the multi-storey structure suddenly came crashing down.
The building housed a coaching institute, cafes and offices, while construction work was reportedly underway on its upper floor at the time of the collapse.
According to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), an emergency call regarding the building collapse was received at the Emergency Operation Centre at 7.40 pm on Saturday.
"A Quick Response Vehicle was immediately dispatched to the site and rescue operations were launched in accordance with standard operating procedures," read the statement of the DDMA.
Upon reaching the spot, authorities found that a five-to seven-storey building spread across approximately 300-400 square yards had completely collapsed.
Residents informed rescue personnel that around 10 to 15 people were feared trapped beneath the debris.
"A total of six people have died in the incident. Rescue operation is underway," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Anant Mittal said.
The deceased have been identified as Ravi (24), Kapil (28), Nalin Ray (23), Alok, Parvati (35) and Ekta (24).
Officials said the building was reduced to rubble, with a large portion of the debris falling onto an adjoining tin-shed canteen, owned by Parvati, frequented by students preparing for medical entrance examinations.
CCTV footage of the incident also surfaced on social media platforms.
The footage showed that moments before the collapse, a student began recording after noticing stones and bricks falling onto the road.
Within seconds, the entire building came crashing down, sending up a massive cloud of dust that engulfed the area and triggered panic among people nearby.
The injured were identified as Kshitij Pratap (25), Neelam Yadav (25), Anuj Dixit (22), Tarun (25), Saika Khan (27), Aastha (26), Aditya Sharma (24) and Vishal (25).
All of them were shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment.
Police said some of the injured had already been discharged after receiving medical care, while others remained under observation.
"A multi-agency rescue operation involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services (DFS), DDMA, Delhi Police, Delhi Civil Defence, CATS ambulances and local volunteers continued through the night.
Rescue teams deployed heavy machinery, including Hydras, JCBs and rotavators, along with hydraulic cutters, victim-location cameras and sniffer dogs to search for people trapped beneath the debris," read the statement.
Senior district administration officials, including the District Magistrate, Additional District Magistrate, SDM Chattarpur and officers of various emergency support functions, remained present at the site to supervise the operation.
During the rescue operation, a total of 14 persons were extricated from the rubble.
Of them, eight sustained injuries and six eventually succumbed to their injuries, taking the death toll to six.
Officials said the rescue operation was concluded after all trapped people were accounted for and the debris was thoroughly searched.
The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained.
Authorities have initiated a detailed inquiry to determine whether structural weaknesses, ongoing construction activity or any violation of building norms contributed to the tragedy.
Meanwhile, according to an order by the Deputy Commissioner of MCD's South Zone, Assistant Engineer (Building) Sudesh Singh Chouhan and Junior Engineer (Building) Aman Jain have been placed under suspension over alleged lapses in supervision related to the building that collapsed.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday visited the site of a building collapse.
The government ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter.
The FIR has been lodged at Mehrauli police station, while the inquiry will be conducted under the supervision of the South District Magistrate on the chief minister's directions.
Police said further legal action would be taken based on the findings of the investigation.
