New Delhi: A four-storey residential building collapsed on Wednesday afternoon in the Seemapuri area of northeast Delhi, leaving at least three people dead, including a pregnant woman and a toddler, while injuring eight others. Emergency teams and local residents mounted an intensive rescue operation amid heaps of concrete and brick to locate those trapped under the debris.
Among the deceased was 21-year-old Gulafsa, known affectionately as Gudiya to her family, who was four months pregnant. She had been staying at her mother’s home for the past six weeks alongside her five-year-old son. According to relatives, Gulafsa was on the second floor when the structure gave way, trapping her inside the washroom.
Despite being buried beneath dense rubble, she managed to place a phone call to her family to request water and describe her location. Her uncle, Saleem, stated that rescue teams used her description and estimated floor height to cut through the debris and pull her out. Though emergency workers managed to extricate her after extensive efforts, she was unresponsive and was declared dead shortly after arriving at GTB Hospital. Her mother, brother, and young son had managed to evacuate just moments before the collapse.
The disaster also claimed the life of a one-and-a-half-year-old child, whose body was recovered during search operations. Eight others, including a three-year-old child, sustained injuries and were transported to nearby medical facilities for urgent treatment.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, neighbourhood residents worked alongside official emergency teams, using their bare hands and basic equipment to clear concrete slabs and search for survivors. Family members and neighbours expressed ongoing concern that more children, who frequently played near the premises, could still be trapped beneath the wreckage as search and rescue teams continued clearing the site.
