New Delhi: A 26-year-old man was killed and eight others were rescued after a three-storey commercial building collapsed near the Saket Metro Station in south Delhi, officials said on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening on Western Marg in the Saidulajab area, where the building housed a coaching institute, cafes and offices. Construction work was reportedly underway on the upper floor when the structure suddenly gave way.
The collapse reduced the entire building to rubble, with debris also crashing onto an adjoining tin-shed canteen frequently visited by students preparing for medical entrance examinations.
The deceased has been identified as Ravi (26).
The injured were identified as Tarun Kumar (26) from Gurugram, Saika Khan (27) from Motihari in Bihar, Neelam Yadav (25) of Saidulajab, Aditya Sharma (24) of Saket, Kshitij Pratap (25) of Noida, Anuj Dikshi (25) of Saket, Aastha (25) of Saidulajab and Vishal (24) of Saket.
According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), six people were rescued by emergency personnel with assistance from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and other agencies, while two others were pulled out by local residents before rescue teams arrived.
All eight injured individuals were shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment.
A massive rescue operation involving the NDRF, DFS, DDMA, Delhi Police and local volunteers continued throughout the night. Rescue teams deployed heavy machinery, hydraulic cutters, victim-location cameras and sniffer dogs to search through the debris and ensure no one remained trapped.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse. Preliminary reports indicate that construction activity on the upper floor may have been underway at the time of the incident, though officials have not yet confirmed whether it contributed to the disaster.
