New Delhi: One person was killed while six people have been rescued so far from the collapsed multi-storey building at the capital’s Satya Niketan area on Sunday, officials said, even as the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sought a high-level probe into the incident and sought accountability of those responsible.
Delhi Police said that the building was 40-50 years old, comprising a basement and five upper floors, and was used as a PG accommodation. Repair work was underway in the basement when the incident occurred.
One resident was extricated from the rubble and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Department, where he was declared dead.
Speaking to IANS, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda called the incident “extremely tragic”.
While maintaining that it is not the time for a “political blame game, he said: “Everyone can see the conditions in which the PG accommodations are functioning in this area. Who is sanctioning their layout plans? Who is certifying their fire safety? What role is the MCD playing? What role is the NDMC playing? What is the role of the Fire Department and the Delhi government, and where is the accountability of the local MLA and ministers? Someone must be held accountable.”
“Such incidents have been taking place every year,” he said while referring to the deaths of five students in the Saket building collapse incident.
Hooda claimed that students themselves pulled out three of their mates from the rubble. “The government and the authorities should answer for this,” he stated.
Locals claimed that this is the second incident of building collapse in the area.
AAP convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed grief over the tragedy, calling it “extremely tragic and alarming”.
In a post on X, he said: “I pray to God that the people trapped in the debris are rescued safely and quickly.”
“Due to the government’s negligence in Delhi, many such accidents have already occurred. The government must wake up from its slumber. There is a need to take large-scale action to ensure the safety of citizens,” he added.
Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly and former CM Atishi said that the apprehension that several people, including students, are trapped under the debris is “deeply distressing”.
Taking to X, she said: “We appeal to the administration to carry out relief and rescue operations with utmost promptness and to safely extricate all those trapped under the rubble.”
Atishi urged the government to conduct a high-level investigation into the incident and ensure strict action against those responsible for negligence, “so that such painful tragedies can be prevented in the future”.
NSUI National President Vinod Jakhar, who was campaigning nearby, told IANS: “We rushed to the area after getting to know about the incident…one of our NSUI members may also have been trapped here. We ourselves pulled out three people.”
Holding a book, he said: “I found this amid the debris. A student might be reading this during the tragedy…. The Rekha Gupta government is responsible for such incidents.”
Meanwhile, a Delhi University student who stays in a PG, adjacent to the building that collapsed, described the tragedy.
“Soon after we finished lunch, we felt an earthquake had struck the area. We were on the fourth floor and could feel that the entire building was shaking at the moment. We came to the balcony and could only see dust filling the area. Still, we thought that it was the impact of an earthquake,” he told IANS.
“Only after coming downstairs we realised that a building had collapsed. Immediately, I, along with a few others, pulled out one person from the rubble before police or the fire brigade could reach here.”
“There is panic in the area; our parents are constantly calling. I don’t think it’s safe to stay here anymore,” he added.
Describing the situation, another eyewitness said that around 20-30 people might still be trapped under the rubble.
“We had gone to help. We rescued two children who were still breathing. Two more children were trapped there and were calling for help. We held their hands to try to rescue them, but by then, they had already lost their lives,” he claimed while talking to IANS.
(IANS)
