15 house collapse incidents in Delhi 24 hours amid heavy rain, one woman dead

A 58-year-old woman was crushed to death after a ceiling collapsed in Tibbiya College Society near Karol Bagh on Saturday evening amid heavy rain.

A 58-year-old woman was crushed to death after a ceiling collapsed in Tibbiya College Society near Karol Bagh in central Delhi on Saturday evening amid heavy rain, police said.

A commuters passes a waterlogged street after heavy rains in New Delhi on Saturday. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

The deceased was identified as Ranjit Kaur, said Sanjay Kumar Sain, deputy commissioner of police (central).

Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said that 15 calls were received at its control room with different people reporting portions of several buildings having collapsed across the Capital. “15 house collapse calls, reporting incidents such as damage to portion of a house, roof or wall were received between 1am and 6pm on Saturday. None of them were serious, except for one in which a person died. There was another incident in which 30 people were rescued near Tis Hazari,” said Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg.

Fire officials said 30 people were rescued from Saraipur DDA flats, near Tis Hazari court after the portion of a building collapsed there at 4.42am on Saturday. “A fire tender was dispatched to the site immediately after a distress call was received. Thirty people trapped at the spot were rescued by fire officials,” said a senior DFS officer asking not to be named.

The police said that a PCR call was received at Karol Bagh police station at 4pm reporting a ceiling collapse at Tibbiya College Society, and a woman trapped under the debris. The police reached the spot, but the victim succumbed to her injuries by then. The police identified the victim as Ranjit Kaur, 58. “According to victim’s family members, one portion of the quarter collapsed and Kaur went inside retrieve some personal belongings. Suddenly, another portion of the ceiling also came down, trapping Kaur,” Sanjay Kumar Sain, deputy commissioner of police (central), said.

Police said that the portion of the building was in a dilapidated condition. “The victim is survived by her husband and son, who were present at the time of incident. Legal action in the case under section 174 (unnatural death) of the Code of Criminal Procedure is being initiated,” the officer added.

According to the fire department, it was an old building and the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) control room received information about the incident at around 3.47pm. “Immediately, two fire tenders were rushed to the spot, but before the rescue operations could be initiated, the woman was found dead under the debris,” said a senior DFS officer, asking not to be named.

The officer added that reports of house collapse were also received from Alaknanda, Sadar Bazar, Kucha Patiram, Ambedkar Nagar and Lajpat Nagar part-1 areas. “Except the death at Tibbiya Colony Society on Desh Bandhu Gupta Marg, no other loss of life was reported from anywhere else,” he said.