3 dead, 5 critical, 9 rescued after five-storey building collapses in Delhi's Satya Niketan

New Delhi, Sep 6 (PTI) Three students were killed, five others were critically injured and nine rescused after an around 50-year-old five-storey building housing a boys' paying guest (PG) accommodation collapsed in a congested bylane in south Delhi's Satya Niketan near Delhi University's South Campus on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

The building, known as 'Hostel Daze', comprised a basement and five upper floors and collapsed around 1.30 pm while repair work was underway in the basement, a senior officer said.

Nine people have been pulled out of the debris so far. One of them was brought dead to hospital, while another succumbed to injuries during treatment, police said. Five people are critical and one rescuer who sustained injuries during the operation has been discharged.

Locals, however, claimed that around 40 to 50 people could still be trapped under the rubble. The exact number of people trapped or injured has not yet been ascertained.

Teams of the Delhi Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Service and Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), along with fire tenders and CATS ambulances, reached the site and launched rescue operations.

The densely packed locality has narrow, congested lanes lined with eateries and PG accommodations catering largely to students. Locals said the congestion made it difficult for emergency vehicles to reach the site quickly.

Police said the Joint Commissioner of Police, New Delhi Range, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) and Additional DCP were supervising the rescue operation.

The building's owner has been identified and is based in Gurugram, police said. Seven to eight teams have been formed to trace him, while the process of registering an FIR is underway.

"The exact number of persons trapped/injured is still not known at present. Further details will be shared as and when confirmed," Delhi Police said in a statement.

Locals alleged that water had accumulated in the basement over several days of rain and claimed it may have weakened the foundation, contributing to the collapse. The exact cause of the incident is yet to be established.

Rajen Chhetri, a local who works with the Delhi Police, said the building had around 15 rooms, with two to three students staying in each room.

"Most of the students staying here are from Keralam, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and study mainly at Motilal Nehru College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College and Sri Venkateswara College. They were paying around Rs 12,000 per bed," Chhetri said.

"I have been living here for the last 20 years. Some construction work was going on in the basement, where water had started accumulating. The foundation was also extremely weak," he said.

As rescue personnel searched through the rubble, local residents also joined the operation, using their bare hands and whatever tools were available to clear debris and look for those trapped underneath.

An AIIMS source said six people had been rescued and shifted to hospitals, of whom two remained critical and one was brought dead. A rescuer who sustained injuries was also treated and discharged.

An eyewitness said the tragedy could have been much worse had it occurred on a working day, as many students had returned home for the weekend.

"Very few were here," he said.

Delhi has witnessed incessant rain since Friday, with locals linking the water accumulation in the basement to the prolonged spell of rainfall.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Lieutenant Governor Taranjeet Singh Sandhu, Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar and BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj visited the site after the collapse.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed grief over the deaths and said he had spoken to the chief minister, police commissioner and director general of the National Disaster Management Authority to assess the situation.

"The injured are being with all necessary medical assistance. Praying for the speedy recovery of all those injured," Shah wrote on X.

BJP MLA Anil Sharma, who also reached the spot, said some people trapped inside had managed to contact rescuers.

"We are even getting calls from those who are trapped inside," he said.

The incident has also raised concerns among residents over the condition and maintenance of buildings in the locality, where several houses have been converted into PG accommodations.

Priyanka, who has lived in the area for more than two decades, said many buildings had been converted into boys' PGs while their owners had moved elsewhere.

"Buildings here are being constructed up to five-six floors. Many houses have been converted into boys' PGs, with the owners shifting elsewhere. They simply name the properties as PGs, take the rent online and leave the area without even checking back," she said.

She added that she had not seen maintenance work being carried out at the collapsed PG and said the locality had many such accommodations.

"Since it was raining, most of the students were inside rooms, while some had gone home as it was the weekend," Priyanka said.

Police have appealed to locals and onlookers to stay away from the site, saying the presence of bystanders was hampering rescue efforts. Paramilitary personnel have also been deployed to ensure the unobstructed movement of ambulances as the search and rescue operation continues.