Three people lost their lives and four others sustained injuries after a two-storey building collapsed in Jahangirpuri, northwest Delhi, on Friday afternoon. The building, located in D Block, housed three factories, including a gas-stove manufacturing unit in the basement, a cardboard-making operation on the ground floor, and a garment production factory on the first floor.
According to police, the collapse occurred around 12:51 pm. Officials stated that the building was old and in a dilapidated state, news agency PTI reported. Its terrace had been weakened due to seepage, and a few labourers were working to address the issue when the incident took place.
An NDRF team arrived at the spot in the Jahangirpuri industrial area where a house collapsed today.
"The building was structurally compromised," a police officer remarked, as quoted by PTI. "The collapse happened while the workers were on the terrace."
Delhi Fire Services received an emergency call at 12:51 pm, prompting the dispatch of five fire tenders to the scene. The National Disaster Response Force, fire department, and local police conducted the rescue operation, which continued into the evening.
Initially, Mukesh Kumar, 45, was rescued from the rubble and taken to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries. Phoolwati, 50, and Vinod, 43, were found later and were declared dead upon arrival at the hospital. All three were employees of the factories in the collapsed building.
The injured individuals, identified as Thakur Das, Nirmala, Hari Shankar, and Jason, are receiving treatment at Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital. They were also working on the terrace at the time of the collapse, PTI's report mentioned.
Witnesses described the scene as the building collapsing "like a pack of cards" into a cloud of dust. Local residents quickly alerted the authorities and attempted to clear the debris, the report stated. Phoolwati's two sons arrived at the scene to search for their mother, who had started working there only that day. They were informed by a witness, it added.
Mukesh Kumar's and Vinod's families have been notified. The bodies have been placed in the mortuary for a post-mortem scheduled for Saturday. A case has been registered, and an investigation is ongoing.
Rain Leads To 27 Building Collapses In Delhi
This incident came amid heavy rainfall in Delhi, which has caused widespread damage and disruptions. Till Thursday, rain led to 27 building collapses, resulting in one fatality and three injuries. Till midnight, the Delhi Police received 26 calls related to building collapses, with one more reported by 7 AM on Thursday. The fatalities included one person in the Subzi Mandi area, with three more injured in Shastri Park and Defence Colony.
The severe weather conditions have also led to significant traffic disruptions and waterlogging. By midnight, 2,727 calls related to traffic jams and 119 calls of waterlogging had been received, with an additional 218 traffic jam calls and eight waterlogging reports by 7 AM. Fifty calls regarding uprooted trees were also logged during this period.
Several roads, including those in ITO, Rajghat, Mother Dairy, Ganesh Nagar, and Patparganj Road, remained waterlogged on Thursday morning. Tragically, on Wednesday, a 22-year-old woman and her three-year-old son drowned in Ghazipur after slipping into a waterlogged drain near Khoda Colony.
More details about the latest building collapse are awaited.