The toll in the building collapse in northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri rose to five after two more bodies were recovered on Thursday, police said.
A pregnant woman and two children were among those killed after the four-storey building collapsed on Wednesday afternoon. The rescue and search operations are still underway, the police said, adding one or two people are still feared to be trapped under the debris, as claimed by locals.
The owner of the collapsed building, identified by his first name Anwar, is absconding and efforts are underway to nab him, a senior police officer aware of the developments said on condition of anonymity. The owner was among the two occupants of the building who were not present at the time of the tragedy, the officer added.
Deep Dive
How many people died in the New Seemapuri building collapse, and are more still feared trapped?
What may have caused the Seemapuri building to collapse?
Which teams are conducting rescue operations at the Seemapuri collapse site?
Also Read | 2 children, pregnant woman among 3 dead in Seemapur building collapse in Delhi; 8 injured
Deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Rajendra Prasad Meena confirmed the recovery of two more bodies and said: “Both dead women were residents of the four-storey building that collapsed on Wednesday afternoon. One woman’s age is 60 while the other woman was 35. Multiple teams are carrying out the search and rescue operation. The debris is being cleared to ascertain if more victims are trapped.”
Efforts are being made to ascertain the identity of the two women and details about the same would be shared soon, Meena said. Among the three victims whose bodies were recovered from the building collapse site on Wednesday night was 21-year-old Gulafsa, who was four months pregnant.
{{/usCountry}}Efforts are being made to ascertain the identity of the two women and details about the same would be shared soon, Meena said. Among the three victims whose bodies were recovered from the building collapse site on Wednesday night was 21-year-old Gulafsa, who was four months pregnant.
{{/usCountry}}Police said the building collapsed around 3.30pm in the cramped lanes of New Seemapuri, where locals rushed to help firefighters clear debris from the side of an Eidgah that was the only access point.
Also Read | Another Delhi building collapse, same-old script: How enforcement gap has failed to prevent mishaps
District magistrate (DM) of northeast Delhi Ajay Kumar told HT a preliminary enquiry indicated that some construction activity in an adjacent building allegedly led to the collapse of the four-storey building built in a nearly 25 square yards area. Locals told authorities that the owner of the adjacent building allegedly carried out some illegal construction regarding which a complaint was earlier filed.
“The owner of the adjacent building had agreed to remove the illegal section of the building and had employed some labourers to remove it. The labourers were working for the past three-four days. The removal of the illegal section was being done using vibrating machine. The vibration allegedly triggered the collapse of the four-storey building. However, a magisterial inquiry is already initiated to ascertain the exact sequence and cause leading to the building collapse,” said Kumar, adding nearly 75% of the debris removal work has been completed and the entire operation may be concluded in the next four-five hours.
Multiple teams of national disaster response force (NDRF) fire department, district administration, police, and district disaster management authority (DDMA) are involved in the search and rescue operations. At least eight cranes and earth movers have been pressed into service to break and remove the debris. The medical teams with four ambulances are also present at the site for immediately medical assistance.
Apart from the Delhi Police, security personnel from Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and civil defence volunteers are also deployed for crowd management, as scores of people have gathered in the areas around the building collapse site to assist the teams and to even watch the activities.