Overview
- A five‑storey building used as a boys’ paying‑guest hostel near Delhi University’s South Campus suddenly collapsed on Sunday afternoon, triggering a multi‑agency rescue that recovered 11 people and left seven dead.
- Rescue teams from the NDRF, Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Police and other agencies worked into a second day before shifting operations from search to recovery and forensic investigation of the rubble.
- Police registered an FIR against the alleged owner, Hariram Bansal, and the Delhi chief minister ordered a magisterial inquiry as officials suspended five MCD engineers and managers.
- Preliminary probes are focused on repair or excavation work in the basement and heavy water accumulation from recent rain as possible immediate causes, with formal structural audits to follow.
- Civic authorities have ordered sealing or evacuation of illegal buildings that exceed permitted floors and are drafting rules to require safety reports for old houses operating as PGs, a move that could force audits and tougher enforcement across student housing areas.