Delhi building collapse: NDRF joins rescue operations as several remain trapped in rubble after five-storey PG caves in

A fivestorey building housing a boys PG collapsed in south Delhis Satya Niketan area on Sunday afternoon leaving one dead and several people trapped officials saidThe area is close to the heart of Delhi Universitys South Campus and has congested lanes lined with student hostels and eateries Locals claimed the building was nearly 20 years old and construction work in the basement was on when the incident occurred at around 130 pmOf the four patients the hospital received two remain critical and one was brought dead One rescuer who was brought in has been discharged AIIMS sources saidLocal police staff fire brigade CAT Ambulance and other emergency services are present at the spot The NDRF team has also reached and rescue and relief operations are underway a police officer saidA PCR call was received at South Campus police station at 134 pm regarding the collapse of a building near Nanakpura Gurdwara the police said in a statementThe exact number of persons trappedinjured is not known at present Some people have been rescued so far Further details will be shared as and when confirmed read the statementPolice said they have identified the buildings owner and have formed teams to trace himAccording to officials the collapsed building was known as Hostel DazeWitnesses at the scene estimate that more than 20 people may be trapped under the rubble but this figure has not been officially confirmedThe hostel was always full So many people could still be trapped under the debris The lanes are very congested so it was difficult for rescue vehicles to arrive at the scene faster a local saidLocals and eyewitnesses said they immediately joined the rescue efforts using their hands and available tools to remove debris in their search for those trapped underneathAn eyewitness commented that the incident could have been much worse had it occurred on a working day since many students from nearby areas had returned home Very few were here he saidRajen Chhetri a local who works with the Delhi Police said the building housed around 15 rooms with two to three students sharing each roomMost 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 12000 per bed Chhetri saidI 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 adding that around 13 people had been rescuedDelhi has witnessed incessant rains since FridayPriyanka a local living in the area for the past 2022 years said Buildings here are being constructed up to fivesix 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 backThe PG that collapsed is over 20 years old and in all these years I have not seen any maintenance work being carried out The whole of Satya Niketan is full of PGs Hardly 30 per cent of the house owners actually live here she saidEven the gutters and sewers here are open There were many students trapped inside the building Since it was raining most of them were in their rooms while some had gone home as it was the weekend Priyanka saidPolice are advising locals and onlookers to stay away from the site as bystanders are complicating rescue efforts Both police and paramilitary personnel have been deployed to ensure ambulances move freelyBJP MLA Anil Sharma reached the spot and informed that people are still trapped We are even getting calls from those who are trapped inside Teams are continuously in touch with those who are trapped he saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever