Delhi building collapse: 3 students dead, 5 critical as oxygen cylinders dropped for trapped victims

Three students were killed and five others critically injured after an around 50-year-old, five-storey building housing a boys' hostel collapsed in a congested lane in south Delhi's Satya Niketan near Delhi University's South Campus on Sunday, September 6, officials said.

Eight people have so far been pulled out of the debris. Two were brought dead to hospital, while a third succumbed to injuries during treatment, police said.

Five others are in critical condition. Authorities have not yet confirmed the number of people still trapped inside, though local residents estimated that between 30 and 50 people could have been in the building when it collapsed.

The building, which had a basement and five upper floors and was being used as a paying guest (PG) accommodation, collapsed at around 1.30 pm while repair work was underway in the basement, a senior police officer said.

Several vehicles were also buried under the rubble.

Locals alleged that water had accumulated in the basement after days of rain and may have weakened the building's foundation. Delhi has witnessed spells of heavy rainfall since Friday.

A police officer said the structure was nearly 50 years old.

Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising around 70 personnel, along with a canine squad, have been deployed to search for signs of life under the rubble.

Oxygen cylinders were also dropped beneath the debris to provide air to people who may be trapped, an NDRF officer said. Fire tenders have been stationed at the site.

The locality has narrow and congested lanes lined with eateries and PG accommodations, making access difficult for rescue vehicles.

Residents joined the rescue teams in searching through the rubble, using their bare hands and whatever tools were available to locate those trapped.

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

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

“The injured are being provided with all necessary medical assistance. Praying for the speedy recovery of all those injured,” Shah said in a post on X.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda also spoke to Gupta and offered assistance, official sources said.

The Joint Commissioner of Police, New Delhi Range, along with the DCP Southwest and Additional DCP, is supervising the rescue operation.

Police said the building was known as 'Hostel Daze' and its owner is based in Gurugram. The process of registering an FIR is underway, while seven to eight teams have been formed to trace the owner.

“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.

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.

He said most of the students were from Kerala, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and studied at Motilal Nehru College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College and Sri Venkateswara College. They reportedly paid around Rs 12,000 per bed.

Chhetri said construction work was underway in the basement and water had started accumulating there.

An eyewitness said the casualty count could have been higher had the collapse occurred on a working day, as several students had returned home for the weekend.

Residents also raised concerns over the condition and maintenance of other buildings in the densely populated locality, where several houses have been converted into PG accommodations.

Priyanka, a resident who has lived in the area for more than two decades, alleged that many buildings had been constructed up to five or six floors and converted into boys' PGs, with owners living elsewhere.

She claimed that no maintenance work had been carried out at the collapsed building for years.

BJP MLA Anil Sharma, who was at the site, said rescue teams were receiving calls from people believed to be trapped inside.

Police have appealed to locals and onlookers to stay away from the site, while paramilitary personnel have been deployed to ensure the unobstructed movement of ambulances.

Rescue operations are continuing.