20-year-old man dead, family injured in building collapse in north-east Delhi

Officers said that the building was ‘poorly constructed’

A 20-year-old man was killed and his six family members were injured after the three-storey building they were living in collapsed, here in north-east Delhi’s Mustafabad on Sunday, officers said.

The deceased has been identified as Sufiyan and his father Suleman, among those rescued, was the head of the family and used to work as a scrap dealer.

DCP (North East) Sanjay Kumar Sain said the 7-member-family was living in the house as tenants for the last 4 years. “The building was constructed about 17-18 years ago and is owned by Shamim Ahmad. Appropriate legal action is being taken,” the DCP added. Officers said that the building was “poorly constructed”. 

According to Mr. Sain, the Dayalpur police station received a call on Sunday morning around 5 a.m. regarding the collapse of the house at Babu Nagar in Mustafabad. On reaching the spot, the police found that the roof of a room located on the second floor of the house had collapsed and several persons were trapped in the rubble.

Meanwhile, other officers from the nearby police stations and traffic police officials also reached the spot to assist in the rescue operation while fire tenders, JCBs and an ambulance were also called in.

While the six injured persons, including the deceased’s parents and four siblings, were rescued and shifted to the hospital, Sufiyan, who was rescued from the debris after multiple efforts, was declared dead at the hospital.

Delhi Fire Service Chief Atul Garg said after they received the call, firefighters rushed to the spot with fire tenders and started removing the debris to rescue people buried under it.