Death toll in Delhi building collapse touches 11; landlord, family members among deceased

New Delhi: The death toll in the collapse of a multi-storey residential building in northeast Delhi's Shakti Vihar area on Saturday touched to 11, said officials. Accoridng to police, 22 people occupied the builiding which constructed around 20 years ago. Tehseen, owner of the building and six of his family members were crushed to death when the building crumbled like a stack of cards in the early hours of Saturday. Around 11 people were injured in the accident. 

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Fire Force personnel, Delhi Police and other volunteers carried out rescue efforts for over 12 hours at the site of the 20-year-old four-storey structure that collapsed in the Mustafabad area of the national capital around 3 am.

According to a PTI report, police assumed that construction work in "two-three shops" on the ground floor could have led to the collapse. The residents here also opined the same. They also expressed concern about the fragile state of four to five buildings. 

Waste water from the sewer has been seeping into the walls of the buildings for years, and over time, the moisture has weakened the structure, causing the walls to develop cracks," said Salim Ali, another resident.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi, in a statement, said that the structure was around 20 years old and was fully occupied.

CM orders probe
Expressing grief over the deaths, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ordered a probe into the incident. Residents of nearby buildings who also felt the tremors described it as an earthquake and said the floor beneath them was shaking.

In a post on X, Delhi CM Gupta said, "Deeply saddened by the tragic building collapse in Mustafabad. Orders have been given to investigate the incident and strict action will be taken against the culprits." 

"My deepest condolences to those who died in the unfortunate accident. May God grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss," the chief minister said.

AAP supremo and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal also extended his condolences to the bereaved families.

"I appeal to all the party workers to fully cooperate with the administration in relief and rescue operations," he said in a post on X.

Survivors recall building’s pancake collapse
"We thought something hit our house but when we looked outside, we saw that the entire building next to us had turned to rubble," said Ryan, a Shiv Vihar resident who lived next to the collapsed building.

Sehjhad Ahmad lost two nephews, Danish and Naved, who stayed in a third-floor house with their parents -- Ahmad's sister and brother-in-law. "Both my nephews were the breadwinners of the family. They ran the entire household. Now they are gone," he said.

His sister and brother-in-law are in critical condition. "I got a call around 4 am and rushed to the site as soon as I heard," he said.

Sonu Abbas, another resident, said he lost his sister whose family was living on the fourth floor of the building. He told PTI that she was still alive when she was taken out of the rubble.

"She got up, saw that her husband and children were safe, and helped them out of the rubble," he said. Only after that she collapsed and passed away," Abbas said.

Both her children have injuries while her husband remains in critical condition, he added.

The deceased include Tehseen (60), the owner of the building, his son Nazeem (30), his wife Shahina (28), and their three children, Anas (6), Afreen (2) and Afan (2), and the owner's younger daughter-in-law Chandni (23). Danish (23) and Naved (17), who are brothers, Reshma (38) and Ishaq (75) also died in the incident.

Six people were discharged from the hospital after receiving treatment, which included the owner's son Chand (25) while nine people, including Tehseen's wife, remain under treatment.

According to Dayalpur police, they received information about the building collapse around 3.02 am and rushed to Gali No. 1, Shakti Vihar, where 22 people were reported to be buried under the debris.

Rescue teams of the NDRF, Delhi Fire Services (DFS), and ambulance services were immediately pressed into action, officials said. After being pulled out of the rubble, the injured were rushed to GTB Hospital.

NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahidi told PTI, "We call this a 'pancake collapse' --  a particularly dangerous type where chances of survival are minimal. Still, we hope there are lives that can be saved and we are actively searching." 

He added that debris was cleared slowly as this is a highly congested area, making the rescue efforts challenging. The use of heavy machinery was limited due to space constraints, he said.