A four-storey building collapsed in New Seemapuri in Northeast Delhi on Wednesday afternoon, killing four people and injuring eight, after residents said they had raised concerns about construction activity and the condition of the structure in the weeks before the incident.
The building, located next to the Kadimi Eidgah ground, gave way at around 3.15 pm while children were playing in the open space. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi said the structure was a ground-plus-three-floor building in a jhuggi-jhopri area on about 25 square yards of land belonging to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board. It was around 20 to 25 years old, according to the civic body.
Among those killed were 60-year-old Hazra Bibi, who had gone to visit a relative in the building, Nusrat, who had travelled from Uttar Pradesh to see her ailing mother, and 21-year-old Ghulafsa, who was around four months pregnant. Ghulafsa’s four-year-old daughter, Zoya, also died in the collapse. Police said parts of bodies had been recovered from the debris and that identification of the remains was pending through DNA examination.
Residents said Hazra warned children, including her 17-year-old grandson, to move away as the structure began to fall. She also pushed a relative, Devruddin Mirja, out of the way, but was buried when the building collapsed towards an adjoining lane. Rescuers recovered her body early on Thursday, with the keys to her locked house still in her hand, according to the report.
A three-year-old boy, Abdaan, was found trapped on the ground floor with his grandmother Salma and was rescued with minor leg injuries. He was later discharged from hospital. Another child, five-year-old Arhaan, survived after being found in a corner of a room on the third floor. His mother, Muslima Bibi, said her rented room, cash, documents, gas cylinders and other belongings remained buried under the rubble.
The injured included Sakina, 35, who suffered serious facial and head injuries, her husband Samad, a scrap worker, 34-year-old mason Chote and Devruddin, who sustained head injuries. Police said a case had been registered under relevant sections and that the building’s owner, identified as Anwar, was on the run.
Residents alleged that the original structure had been extended by adding heavy concrete slabs, locally referred to as lenters, raising it to four or five floors without adequately strengthening the foundation. They also said drilling and construction work was under way in an adjoining building and that machinery was causing heavy vibration along the shared wall. These claims have not been independently established.
Residents further alleged that MCD officials and police had visited the site about a month earlier after complaints about the construction and the building’s condition. They said officials inspected the added slabs but accepted the owner’s assurance that the structure was safe. The residents alleged that the older foundation was not adequately assessed. The MCD’s response to these allegations was awaited, according to the report. Rescue and identification procedures were continuing after the collapse.
