A five-storey building used as a student hostel has collapsed, killing at least six people and leaving 11 rescued from the rubble.
The building, known as Hostel Daze, came down at around 1.30pm yesterday (6 September) in Satya Niketan, south-west Delhi, India.
It was being used as a boys’ paying guest (PG) accommodation close to Delhi University’s South Campus.
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Rescuers worked through the night and continued searching today (7 September) for anyone else who could be trapped beneath the debris.
One person rescued during overnight operations was later declared dead at hospital, taking the death toll to six.
The number of people inside when the building collapsed remains unclear, although reports have suggested up to 16 or 17 students and labourers may have been inside.
An eyewitness said the collapse sounded “like the rumble of an earthquake”.
He told local media: “We rushed out immediately; there was a lot of smoke and dust here. The entire building had collapsed.”
He said he could hear trapped students shouting: “Save us, save us!”
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the scene today as the search operation continued.
She said around 80 per cent of the debris had been cleared, with only rubble from the basement remaining.
Gupta said the collapse appeared to have been caused by “accumulation of water, combined with ongoing repair work in the basement”.
But officials stressed that the exact cause is still being investigated, as reported by Need To Know.
Police have registered a case against owner Hariram Bansal and others, while teams are searching for him.
Authorities are investigating claims that unauthorised renovation and excavation work had been taking place in the basement.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has said the building had no sanctioned building plan and that basement construction was unauthorised.
An adjacent building was also evacuated as a precaution.
The tragedy has raised fresh concerns over student accommodation in the densely populated neighbourhood, where many students rely on private PGs because of a shortage of places in college hostels.
The Delhi government has ordered a magisterial inquiry and said illegal five-storey buildings across the capital will be sealed.
It is also planning a policy requiring regular structural audits and safety certificates for buildings used for public activities, including PGs.
Gupta said: “We will not allow anyone to reside in unsafe PGs.”
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