At least six people were killed and eight others injured after a four-storey building housing a mess and paying guest accommodation collapsed in south Delhi’s Saidulajab area near Saket Metro Station on Saturday evening.
A rescue operation involving multiple agencies continued overnight, with teams pulling at least ten people from the debris, while authorities carried on search efforts amid fears that more people could be trapped under the rubble.
A senior police officer said six persons were declared dead at the AIIMS Trauma Centre, adding that two are under treatment in the intensive care unit (ICU) and three persons have been shifted to a ward. Meanwhile, three others have been discharged.
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Earlier in the day, the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials said that nine people were pulled out from the debris till around 3.45 am on Sunday. Eight of them were admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment, while one person, identified as Ravi, was declared dead on arrival by doctors.
Police have identified the injured as Tarun Kumar (26) of Gurugram, Saika Khan (27) from Bihar’s East Champaran district, Neelam Yadav (25) of Saidulajab, Aditya Sharma (24), Kshitij Pratap (25) of Noida, Anuj Dikshi (25), Aastha (25) and Vishal (24).
{{/usCountry}}Police have identified the injured as Tarun Kumar (26) of Gurugram, Saika Khan (27) from Bihar’s East Champaran district, Neelam Yadav (25) of Saidulajab, Aditya Sharma (24), Kshitij Pratap (25) of Noida, Anuj Dikshi (25), Aastha (25) and Vishal (24).
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The DFS received a call regarding the collapse at 7.44 pm. The incident occurred on Western Marg in Saidulajab, a densely populated locality known for numerous paying guest accommodations, coaching centres and student messes.
Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services (DFS), Delhi Police, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Civil Defence and CATS Ambulance Service worked through the night to clear the debris and search for survivors. Of the nine people rescued so far, seven were pulled out by rescue teams, while two were rescued by local residents before emergency personnel arrived, officials said.
As the operation continued, anxious students gathered outside the narrow lane leading to the collapse site, trying to locate missing friends who were believed to have visited the mess.
“My friend and I study at a nearby coaching centre, and we eat at the mess sometimes. I got to know around 8 pm that the adjoining building had collapsed. I have been calling him for hours and he has not been picking up, even though the call is going through, so I am really worried that he is trapped inside,” 23-year-old Gaurav Kumar, who lives in a nearby PG accommodation, said.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the government was closely monitoring the situation and that all available resources had been deployed for the rescue effort.
“Teams from NDRF, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, DDMA, MCD, CATS and Civil Defence are carrying out rescue operations on a war footing,” Gupta said in a post on X.
She added that every possible effort was being made to rescue those trapped and provide immediate assistance to affected families. “All concerned agencies are coordinating their efforts, ensuring that the safety and well-being of every citizen remain the highest priority,” she said.
Police said search and rescue operations were continuing until the last trapped person was accounted for. The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained.