One dead in house collapse in north-east Delhi’s Mustafabad

Police said that the building belongs to one Shamim Ahmad and was constructed 17-18 years ago. The family had rented it four years ago.

A 20-year-old man was killed and three of his family members injured when their house collapsed in northeast Delhi’s Mustafabad early Sunday.

Delhi Fire Services director Atul Garg said three fire tenders were pressed into service. (Representative Image)

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Sanjay Kumar Sain identified the deceased person as Sufiyan, 20, and the injured as Sufiyan’s father Suleman, 45, mother Shabnam, 40, and sister Labia, 20.

Police said they received a control room call at Dayalpur police station around 5am regarding a house collapse in Babu Nagar, after which the station house officer and other staff reached the spot. They found that the roof of a room located on the second floor of the house (which comprised a ground floor and two floors) had collapsed, trapping a few persons in the rubble.

“Other officers of the nearby police stations and traffic police officials also reached the spot to help in the rescue operation. Fire tenders, an ambulance and a JCB were also called,” Sain said.

Delhi Fire Services director Atul Garg said three fire tenders were pressed into service. “Four persons were trapped under the debris. They were rescued and sent to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, where one of them was declared dead on arrival,” he said.

Narrating the incident, Faizan, 17, said that his father Suleman, a scrap dealer, rented the house to run the business on the ground floor. The family resides on the upper floors. Faizan, who was unaware of his older brother’s death till Sunday afternoon, said that Sufiyan would sleep on the first floor while he, his parents, his brother Izyan, 15, and his sisters Labia, and Shabnoor, 22, slept on the top floor. “Our parents slept on the terrace and the rest of us slept in the room,” he said.

Faizan said that they were all sleeping when the incident took place around 4.30am. “We woke up when we heard a thud. All the floors seemed to have collapsed. My parents, who were on the terrace fell to the bottom when the roof collapsed. The rubble fell on my brother, who was on the first floor,” he said. Three of the four siblings who were on the top floor managed to drag themselves out but one of the sisters had to be rescued. He said that their house owner’s sons came to their rescue and helped them rescue other family members.

“Fire brigade officials rescued my father and brother from under the debris. It took time to take them out,” Faizan said, adding that the building shook very often.

Police said that the building belongs to one Shamim Ahmad and was constructed 17-18 years ago. The family had rented it four years ago. “Legal action is being taken,” DCP Sain said.