Overview
- The front section of a multi-storey building in New Seemapuri gave way on Wednesday, leaving three people dead, at least eight injured and multiple others rescued and hospitalised, officials said.
- Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Police, MCD, DDMA, NDRF and DUSIB led search-and-rescue efforts with JCBs and ambulances while locals pulled several people from rubble before teams arrived.
- Authorities reported that voices were heard under slabs and that rescue work continued into the evening as teams checked adjoining structures that were partly damaged or had collapsed walls.
- Officials and neighbours said cracks visible after Tuesday night’s Uttarakhand tremors may have contributed, but investigators will determine the formal cause as they review conflicting records about the building’s age and number of storeys.
- The collapse, coming a month after the deadly Satya Niketan tragedy, has intensified scrutiny of unauthorised construction, record-keeping gaps and the city’s building-inspection and enforcement systems.