NEW DELHI, October 26 (Aalimi Nation) – At least two people died and rescuers were still searching for others after part of a building collapsed in the Milan Garden area of Harsh Vihar in northeast Delhi on Sunday evening, officials said.
The Harsh Vihar building collapse set off a rescue operation that ran through the night and continued into Monday morning. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force, the Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police and Civil Defence were deployed at the site. A dog squad was brought in, and a heavy earthmover was used to clear the debris.
The number of dead was not uniform in accounts available on Monday. Two bodies had been recovered and sent for post-mortem examination, officials said, while a later account put the number of bodies pulled from the rubble at three. Rescue teams said the search for anyone still trapped was continuing, so the figure could change.
Officials said two men had been working at the site. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Gokalpur, Chandra Shekhar, said that according to local inquiries the two were aged about 60 and about 36, and that their phones were unreachable. "We suspect they may still be trapped underneath," he said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Lamba said the structure was old and that an additional floor was being built on top of it. He said the cause of the collapse had not yet been determined. He also pointed to the conditions at the site, saying the area was completely enclosed, which made it hard even to establish exactly which building had come down.
Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra, who visited the spot with fellow minister Ashish Sood on Sunday night, said it appeared that an attempt was being made to install a new lintel, which collapsed and caused the floor below to cave in as well. He said the two people trapped were reportedly a father and his son, and that the circumstances of the incident would certainly be investigated. Officials have not confirmed the cause, and the ministers' remarks were an initial assessment.
The collapse has raised questions about building safety. Officials said the matter of possible unauthorised construction would be examined as part of the inquiry. No findings have been announced, and it has not been stated whether any permission had been obtained for the work under way at the site.
The immediate priority for responders remains the search of the debris, followed by the recovery of any remaining victims and the formal identification of those who died.
Police said the exact sequence of events would be established through an investigation. That inquiry is expected to look at who was carrying out the construction, whether the building was fit for an added floor, and whether any rules were broken.
