The death toll in the Seemapuri building collapse in east Delhi rose to five on Thursday after rescue teams recovered two more bodies from the debris, while eight injured people remained under treatment at Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital in Tahirpur, officials said.
The latest victims were identified as Nusrat, also known as Guria, and Hajra Bibi, an official said. The victims recovered earlier included a 12-year-old girl, 21-year-old Gulafsa, who was around four months pregnant, and a child aged around one-and-a-half years.
The four-storey building, located near Idgah Machhli Mandi in Seemapuri, collapsed on Wednesday afternoon. Eight people were rescued from the site and shifted to Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital for treatment, officials said.
Rescue and debris-clearing operations continued at the site on Thursday. Personnel from the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Services, the National Disaster Response Force, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board were involved in the operation.
Officials said the structure had developed cracks after tremors caused by an earthquake in Uttarakhand on Tuesday evening. However, the exact cause of the collapse has not yet been ascertained.
The continuing operation is focused on clearing the debris and checking the site for any remaining victims. Authorities have not provided further details on the building’s construction history, occupancy or structural condition in the information available so far.
