Building collapses in West Delhi, two workers killed

A four-storey building under construction collapsed at the Kirti Nagar furniture market in west Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, killing two workers and injuring three others.

A four-storey building under construction collapsed at the Kirti Nagar furniture market in west Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, killing two workers and injuring three others.

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Police said eight people were trapped under the debris. “During the rescue operations, five persons were rescued while two died. The front part of the building collapsed when the fourth-floor roof was being laid,” a senior police officer said.Local traders said construction was going on for the past three months.

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“A contractor was carrying out the construction work. All the victims were labourers,” Chamkaur Singh, general secretary of the market association said.

According to a fire department official, four fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Civil defence volunteers and the police helped the fire personnel in rescue operations. The injured were to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) hospital.

The police said bad construction material could have caused the collapse. “Adjoining buildings are safe and we have not asked residents to evacuate,” the officer said.

Locals said builders carry out illegal construction and build extra floors for commercial use.

A case of causing death due to negligence was registered against the owner of the building. He is currently untraceable.

The North Corporation suspended assistant engineer R.K. Saxena and junior engineer Rajesh Sharma, both officers of the building department of Karol Bagh zone, for dereliction of duty and lack of supervision.

The action was taken on the basis of preliminary findings. The executive engineer of the zone, S K Chauhan, was also issued a show-cause notice.