Toddler killed, eight injured as building collapses in Seemapuri

A child aged around a year and a half was killed and at least eight people, including a three-year-old child, were injured after a four-storey building in collapsed in northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri area on Wednesday, officials said.

Eight people have been rescued in an injured condition and sent to hospitals, they added.

The body of a child aged around a year and a half with its head severed was pulled out of the rubble, the officials said. Authorities are suspecting that cracks that appeared in the building following tremors caused by an earthquake in Uttarakhand on Tuesday evening may have led to the incident.

Locals said they could hear the voices of those trapped under the debris.

The actual cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained. According to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), neighbours have claimed that cracks appeared in the structure following the earthquake and the building owner was in the process of vacating it.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a call regarding the collapse at around 3:30 pm and rushed fire tenders to the spot. Teams from the Delhi Police, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the MCD and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) launched search-and-rescue operations.

According to police, the four-storey building was constructed on a plot measuring approximately 225 square feet. The MCD, however, described it as a three-storey structure in a jhuggi-jhopri area spread over around 22 square yards in the DUSIB area near the Idgah Machhli Mandi.

“Eight injured people, including a child aged three years, have been rescued. The operation is ongoing and further details regarding the incident are being collected,” a police officer said.

The MCD said the building was around 20-25 years old and occupied at the time of the incident.

“In addition to the building, walls of an adjoining building have fallen, while the boundary wall of a nearby mosque has also collapsed due to the impact of the incident,” the civic body said.

The MCD said, according to local enquiries, families involved in ragpicking were present in the area and some of them were collecting plastic and other material when they got trapped under the debris after the collapse.

“According to statements of neighbours, the building had developed cracks due to the earthquake last night and the owner was vacating it,” the civic body said.

The MCD said emergency teams from the DFS, the Delhi Police, the MCD, the DDMA, the NDRF and the DUSIB reached the site and immediately launched the rescue operations.

“Eight people were rescued and sent to hospitals. Joint teams of the NDRF, the MCD, the DFS, the Delhi Police and the DDMA are engaged in clearing the debris and searching the affected area,” it said.

There was a discrepancy in the number of people rescued in the initial statements issued by police and the MCD.

Visuals from the spot showed locals joining the rescue efforts and clearing debris with their hands. They were seen removing bricks and rubble from the collapsed structure and helping those trapped underneath.

In a video clip, a group of people could be seen pulling a woman out from the debris and carrying her away in their arms. Several people were also seen crying and appearing distressed near the site.

Heavy machinery, including excavators, was used to clear large piles of rubble, while paramedics and emergency personnel attended to those rescued and shifted the injured to hospitals. The rescue teams continued searching through the debris for people who may still be trapped.

A resident of the area said several people were rescued and taken to hospitals by locals.

“Police came after half an hour. There is a child still trapped and some have been rescued by people and sent to hospitals. I have given CPR myself. Two to three people have been sent to hospitals,” he said.

The incident came a month after a building in southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan came crashing down on September 6, leaving seven people dead and 12 injured.

The Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory asking commuters to avoid the Seemapuri area as traffic movement was affected around the Seemapuri roundabout, DLF Bhopura and adjoining roads.

It appealed to people not to stop, park or gather near the site and said keeping lanes clear would allow ambulances and rescue vehicles to move faster.