Delhi Seemapuri building owner’s daughter among dead; toll rises to 4

Two women who were found dead on Thursday in the rubble of a five-storey building that collapsed in Seemapuri, east Delhi, were related.

Two women who were found dead on Thursday in the rubble of a five-storey building that collapsed in Seemapuri, east Delhi, were related – one had come to visit and was waiting outside when the building when the incident occurred.

NDRF personnel and other teams conduct a rescue operation at the collapse site in Seemapuri. (Vipin Kumar/ HT Photo)

Police identified the deceased as Hazra Bibi, 60, and her niece, Nusrat, 35.

Nusrat was later identified as the daughter of the building owner, Mohammad Anwar who was not present at the time of the collapse and is absconding.

Earlier, 21-year-old Gulafsa, who was around four months pregnant, and a child (aged around three or four years) were declared dead in the collapse near Idgah Machhli Mandi.

Building collapse crushes two people

According to locals, minutes before the collapse, Bibi was in the lane just outside the building to meet Nusrat’s mother, Salma.

Meanwhile, Nusrat was climbing down the staircase from the second to the first floor to feed her 3-year-old son when the structure collapsed around 3.30 pm, burying Bibi and Nusrat alive.

Eight people were injured in the collapse and shifted to the Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital in Tahirpur.

Nusrat’s 3-year-old son had a lucky escape and survived with minor injuries. Sheikh Noor, Nusrat’s brother-in-law, said the boy was with his grandmother, Salma, at the time.

“When locals rushed to rescue the people trapped under the debris, Nusrat’s son was among the first to be located and rescued. He was found in a sitting position, crying next to Salma, who suffered multiple injuries,” said Noor.

The boy’s family members called it a “miracle”. They said before he was born, his parents visited various religious places as they remained childless for over five years after marriage.

Nusrat’s cousin, Shehnaz, 34, said the boy has been restless and constantly crying for his mother since being discharged from Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital on Thursday morning.

“The boy is just three. He won’t understand even if we tell him that his mother is dead. We can’t see him crying,” Shehnaz said.

Nusrat’s 37-year-old husband, Abdul Hasan, said he left home around 9 am on Wednesday for his garment shop in central Delhi’s Gol Market, leaving his wife and son sleeping in their bedroom.

“Around 3.30 pm, Noor called me and informed me about the building collapse and family members. I rushed and found my son and in-laws safe. However, my wife was missing. Her body was found around 3.30 am on Thursday. She had undergone a stone surgery 20 days ago. She was still recuperating,” he added.

The couple had shifted to the building a month ago because their house, nearly 300 metres away, is being reconstructed, the family members said.