A multi-storey building collapsed in northeast Delhi’s New Seemapuri area on Wednesday afternoon, killing three people, including a pregnant woman and two children, and injuring eight others, officials said. Eleven people have been rescued from the debris, while rescue teams continued searching the site for possible survivors.

The incident took place near Idgah Machhli Mandi at around 3:30 pm. The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) received a call about the collapse and rushed fire tenders to the spot. Teams from the Delhi Police, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) joined the rescue operation.

According to officials, the deceased include a girl aged around 12 years, 21-year-old Gulafsa, who was around four months pregnant, and another child aged around one-and-a-half years whose identity is yet to be ascertained. The body of the younger child was recovered from the rubble with severe injuries.

The injured were identified as Momin Mirja, 56, Abdaan, 3, Abdul Rehman, 28, Devruddin, 28, Salma, 50, Chote, 34, Sakina, 35, and Samad, 30. Eight injured people were shifted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital in Tahirpur for treatment, officials said.

11 Rescued From Debris

Police said 11 people had been rescued from the collapsed structure, including the eight injured who were taken to hospital.

"Eleven people have been rescued from the debris so far, including eight injured persons who have been shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, Tahirpur. The operation is ongoing, and further details regarding the incident are being collected," PTI quoted a police officer.

There was some variation in the initial figures released by different agencies as rescue operations were underway. Earlier, Shahdara DCP Rajendra Prasad Meena had said seven people, including a three-year-old child, had been rescued.

“We received information at 3:40 PM. This is a four-storey building, which is 25 square yards in area. So far, 7 people have been rescued. They are out of danger. The rescue operation is ongoing... All agencies are present at the scene; ambulances and Delhi Fire Service staff are deployed. MCD officials, DM, everyone is present at the scene,” ANI quoted Meena.

The building was constructed on a plot measuring around 225 square feet, according to police. The MCD, however, described it as a three-storey structure in a jhuggi-jhopri area spread over around 22 square yards near Idgah Machhli Mandi.

Locals Join Rescue Efforts

As emergency teams worked to clear the rubble, residents also joined the rescue operation. Visuals from the site showed people removing bricks and debris with their bare hands.,

Visuals of the incident showed residents pulling a woman out from beneath the rubble and carrying her to safety. Heavy machinery, including excavators, was later deployed to clear the debris, while ambulances and emergency personnel remained stationed at the site.

A resident said people had been rescued before the police and emergency teams intensified the operation.

"Police came after half an hour. There is a child still trapped, and some have been rescued by people and sent to hospitals. I have given CPR myself. Two-three persons have been sent to the hospital," he said.

Locals Link Collapse To Earthquake Tremors

Some residents claimed that the building had developed cracks after tremors were felt across Delhi-NCR following an earthquake in Uttarakhand on Tuesday night.

Officials, however, said the actual cause of the building collapse would be ascertained after an investigation.

ALSO READ: Earthquake In Delhi-NCR: Strong Tremors Shake National Capital As 4.9-Magnitude Quake Hits Uttarakhand

Satya Niketan Building Collapse Last Month

The Seemapuri incident comes a month after a building collapse in southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan area.

On September 6, seven students were killed and 12 others injured when a five-storey PG building collapsed in the area. Five people, including building owner Hariram Gupta, were detained by police in connection with the incident.


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