At least seven people have lost their lives following the collapse of a boys' PG in South West Delhi's Satya Niketan area on Sunday.
While search and rescue operations continue at the site for a second straight day on Monday, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi has identified five of the deceased who lost their lives in the incident.
DU undergrad, CA aspirant: Students who lost their lives in the tragedy
Among the students declared dead at AIIMS following the building collapse incident, one is a native from Katni in Madhya Pradesh, identified as Akshat Yadav. Yadav was a second year student at the PDGDAV College in Delhi University pursuing Bachelor of Commerce (B. Com). His family received his body after the postmortem on Monday.
Deep Dive
What led to the collapse of the Satya Niketan PG building?
How did the families of the victims respond to the tragedy?
What actions have been taken against those responsible for the Satya Niketan building collapse?
Two of the students were pursuing their degrees in Motilal Nehru College in DU. Among them, Pawan Nath was a first year student of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc) and native of Oraiya in Uttar Pradesh. His family took his body following the postmortem.
Another student from Motilal College who hailed from Varanasi in UP, identified as Abhishek Kumar, lost his life in the incident.
{{/usCountry}}Another student from Motilal College who hailed from Varanasi in UP, identified as Abhishek Kumar, lost his life in the incident.
{{/usCountry}}The body of a native of Dewas in Madhya Pradesh, 18-year-old Arpit Jai, was also taken by his family. Arpit had only recently returned to his PG accommodation after celebrating the Rakshabandhan holidays.
“My son had just returned from our hometown after the Rakshabandhan holidays. He had reached back to his PG yesterday morning, and the next time we saw is his dead body,” his father Bhupendra Jai said. The father added, “Everyone is telling us how bad the condition of the PG was. I wish my son had told me before. I would have never let him stay there.”
Meanwhile, another student, Yuvraj Soni, was identified by his friends. A second year student from Motilal College, Soni hailed from Chhattisgarh, and his family is yet to reach AIIMS for the final identification. His sister, Nishi Soni, said the family is still in shock.
One of his friends said Yuvraj, who was preparing to become a Chartered Accountant, had moved to the PG a few days ago. "Earlier he was living in North campus and was looking to move out of his old PG, and had just moved to the new one," one of his friends, Aryan, said.
Victim's family donates corneas
Arpil Jai's family decided to donate his corneas following his death in the tragedy. His father said Arpit had been staying in the PG for the last year-and-a-half, and was preparing for the CA examination.
Arpit is survived by his elder sister and parents. His father, who works as a cab driver in Dewas, said, “My son had big dreams and I was working hard to make them come true. He wanted to study in a big city and we sent him to Delhi. He was also performing well academically.”
“We donated the cornea to help someone else. Maybe he will be able to see the world even after he is not with us,” he said.
Rescue ops continued overnight, strict action against MCD officials
Teams from the NDRF, SDRF, DDMA, CATS and others were deployed at the site following the collapse of the building at around 1.30 pm on Sunday. The rescue operations continued overnight, with several people pulled out from under the rubble.
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Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta visited the site of the incident and said rescue operations were underway on “war footing”. CM Gupta visited the site again on Monday and announced that strict action will be taken against officials found responsible for negligence.
Meanwhile, the Delhi government also ordered the immediate sealing of buildings with four-storeys and more. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) suspended five officials, including a deputy commissioner, from the South Zone. MCD commissioner Sanjiv Khirwar told HT that officials have "zero tolerance" against unauthorised construction and that the building department will be made accountable in such cases.
Furthermore, the Delhi High Court has also agreed to hear a PIL regarding the collapse of the building in the South Campus area.