New Delhi, Jul 11 (PTI) A 46-year-old man was killed after a three-storey commercial building collapsed in Delhi's Bara Hindu Rao area in the early hours of Friday, an official said.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the deceased's family, they said.

The deceased, identified as Manoj Sharma (46), an employee at one of the shops housed in the building, was trapped under the rubble of the collapsed structure. He was pulled out of the debris and taken to the Hindu Rao Hospital, where he was later declared dead, the official said.

The location of the incident falls within the influence zone of the ongoing tunnelling works being carried out for the Janakpuri West -- RK Ashram Marg corridor of the Delhi Metro.

Addressing the situation in a statement, the DMRC read, "The buildings had already been identified as unsafe prior to the commencement of tunnelling work in the area and had been evacuated by DMRC." The statement further read, "However, unfortunately, one casualty occurred during this operation and DMRC has announced an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh for the next of kin of the deceased." It is pertinent to mention that letters requesting the evacuation of the buildings had been issued to the building owners by DMRC on June 12. It was communicated that these structures were in an extremely dilapidated condition and, therefore, as a precautionary measure, evacuation was necessary. Accordingly, the buildings were subsequently evacuated.

Additionally, necessary subsoil grouting and external supports were provided at the site to stabilise the structures and mitigate any risk due to tunnelling. Debris removal operations were immediately started in close coordination with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Delhi Police. The area had been properly cordoned off as well.

The statement said that tunnelling work is being executed by M/s AFCONS. A thorough investigation shall be carried out by DMRC regarding this incident.

A local resident, Prashant, said, "DMRC has already informed the shopkeepers to vacate their shops earlier. We also got to know that they have announced Rs 5 lakh compensation for the family member. We demand that a proper investigation must be done." Prashant said that they got to know about the collapse and immediately informed the police and fire brigade officials for rescue work.

Another resident said that he was in his house when he heard a loud noise in the night. "As it is already the rainy season, I thought the sound may be due to thunder. But I got to know about the incident in the morning." According to the Delhi Fire Services, a call about the building collapse near Mithai Pull at Lohia Chowk was received at 1:56 am. Three fire tenders were rushed to the site.

By 6:50 am, fire officials reported that the "ground-plus-two (G+2) structure comprising three shops and godowns had collapsed". The shops were on the ground floor, and the storage areas were on the upper floors.

"The shops formed part of the Azad Market cluster and primarily sold bags and canvas cloth," Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia said.

Sharma was working at shop number 7A owned by Gulshan Mahajan. "He had been employed there for around 30 years," the DCP said.

The police said a truck parked in front of the building was severely damaged. However, there was no report of any other casualties or deaths.

A case is being registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 106(1) (causing death by negligence) and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings), and a probe has been initiated. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)