Ten people, including five children and three women, were killed while two were injured when a four-storeyed building collapsed in north Delhi's Inderlok on Saturday.
A distress call was made from Tulsi Nagar, an unauthorised colony, around 9 am, after which officials from the Delhi Police, the Delhi Fire Services, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority rushed to the spot for rescue operations.
“The victims were taken to Hindu Rao Hospital and Acharya Shree Bhikshu Hospital, where four were declared brought dead and six later succumbed to injuries,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Madhur Verma.
Abdul Rashid and Mohammad Naeem, who lived on the top two floors of the almost-50-year-old building, were injured but survived. Both, however, lost all members of their families. Abdul lost his wife and three children. Naeem’s wife, son and daughter were also killed.
The other victims are three cousins who were living on rent on the second floor. Two others living in the building were not present at the time of the collapse, and hence survived.
Investigating authorities suspect that construction at an adjoining plot could have led to weakening of the building.
The narrow by-lanes of the area hampered the arrival of fire tenders and cranes at the spot. “Apart from the pathways being narrow, there was debris everywhere, which restricted movement,” said a fire officer.
A case has been registered over Abdul’s statement with Sarai Rohilla police station against Javed, the owner of the empty plot, and a contractor.
Meanwhile, the state government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for each of the deceased and an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 for the injured.
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