One dead, 3 hurt as portion of three-storey building in Jahangirpuri collapses
New DelhiTwo men and a woman were killed and three others were injured when a portion of a three-storey building collapsed in the Jahangirpuri industrial area, northwest Delhi, on Friday afternoon, police said
New Delhi
Two men and a woman were killed and three others were injured when a portion of a three-storey building collapsed in the Jahangirpuri industrial area, northwest Delhi, on Friday afternoon, police said.
A search and rescue operation by teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services (DFS) and Delhi Police continued till late evening as locals suspected two more people might be trapped under the debris, police said.
DFS chief Atul Garg said they were informed about the incident at 12.51pm, following which five fire tenders and rescue teams were deployed. Videos and images shared by the fire department showed two people, including a woman, trapped under the debris. “Both of them were rescued and rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial (BJRM) hospital. Later, four more people were rescued from the debris. We were told that at least two more people may be trapped. The teams have been carrying out search and rescue operation that may continue till late night,” Garg said.
Deputy commissioner of police (northwest) Jitendra Kumar Meena said there was a seepage problem in the building and workers were in the process of identifying and repairing it around 1pm when the collapse took place. An inspection was going on one of the floors. When labourers went towards the front portion of the building, it came crashing down, he said.
Police said that the building, comprising a ground and two upper floors on a 500-square-yard plot, was rented out for commercial activities by its owner, a resident of Pitampura. A corrugated box manufacturing facility was operating from the ground floor, a clothing business on the first floor and a steel gas stove manufacturing unit on the second floor.
DCP Meena said that of the six rescued people, one man, identified as Mukesh Kumar, 45, was declared brought dead by the hospital, while the other two, including a woman, succumbed to their injuries during treatment. Police, in a release, identified the deceased by their single names as Mukesh, 45, Vinod, 50, and Phoolwati, 45. The injured persons were identified as Thakurdas, 55, Harishankar, 18, Nirmala, 45, and Jasim, 33.
Another police officer, requesting anonymity, said that at least four of the rescued people were labourers. “Apart from the NDRF, firefighters and police personnel, CATS ambulance and other civic agencies, and locals were assisting the search and rescue operation,” the officer said.
The police said they registered a case in the matter and would ascertain the exact cause of the incident before fixing responsibility on officials and agencies concerned.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), when asked about the incident, said that the SMA Cooperative Industrial Estate on GT Karnal Road at Jahangirpuri was developed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and was yet to be handed over to it for repairs or upkeep.
In its response, DDA said: "The tragic incident at Jahangirpuri is very painful. However, it is clarified that the building was neither constructed by DDA nor maintained by DDA. The building was built on a private land.”
Mayor Shelly Oberoi said that an investigation has been ordered in the case by MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar
“I have come to know that an old building bearing number E-26 Rajasthani Udhyog Nagar in Jahangirpuri Industrial area under Civil Lines zone has collapsed. Rescue operation is going on by NDRF, fire service and Delhi Police. I have also come to know that there have been casualties and search operation is going on. It is desired that the matter be examined and stern action including suspension be taken against the delinquent officials,” a letter written by Oberoi said.