A four-storey under-construction building collapsed in Delhi’s Chawri Bazar on Thursday morning, killing two labourers, injuring several others and leaving more people feared trapped in the rubble, according to officials and residents. Rescue teams from the Delhi Fire Service, Delhi Police, the National Disaster Response Force and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi continued operations at the site.
The collapse occurred at around 9.30am while workers were laying a lintel on the building’s third floor, officials and local residents said. The deceased were identified as Kishori, 40, and Sanjeet, 45. Among those injured were Sahdev Chaudhary, 25, and Firoz, 37. All four were residents of Railway Colony in Mandawali, according to the report.
Delhi Fire Service officials said seven people had been pulled from the rubble, but two later died of their injuries. Rescue personnel were searching for others who might still be trapped as the operation continued. The building stood opposite a mosque, and residents said the scale of casualties could have been higher if the structure had collapsed during prayers.
The police have registered a case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, against building owner Samiullah and contractors. A senior police officer said the authorities had alerted the MCD about unauthorised construction nearly five months ago.
The MCD said it had conducted an inspection after receiving the earlier alert and found the owner undertaking repair work. The civic body said it received no subsequent complaint about fresh construction or demolition at the property. It has suspended an assistant and a junior engineer pending further inquiry, citing prima facie “severe dereliction of duty”.
Police sources said the building had not been constructed properly and that the quality of construction material might have been poor. They also raised the possibility that additional floors had been added to a structure whose foundation may not have been strong enough. These claims had not been established through a completed investigation at the time of the report.
Residents said the site had been developed rapidly. Kamran Hashmi, a local resident, claimed that three floors had been built in just over a month. Other residents alleged that an older two-storey structure had been demolished several months earlier to make way for a five-storey building. They also claimed that the concrete lintel had been allowed only two days to strengthen before work on the next floor began.
The accounts point to the difficulty of regulating construction in Delhi’s dense older neighbourhoods, where narrow lanes, adjoining structures and ongoing redevelopment can complicate inspections and emergency response. The Chawri Bazar site was reportedly divided between two brothers, with one adjoining five-storey structure already completed and the other still under construction.
Residents told the report that they heard two loud bangs before neighbouring homes began shaking. Khaleel, who had walked past the lane shortly before the collapse, said local people rushed to the site and helped clear rubble and rescue injured workers. Another resident, Md Huzaif, said one labourer survived by holding on to a pillar and was pulled into an adjacent house using ropes.
The collapse also left families waiting for information about workers at the site. Birender said his brother Pankaj, a native of Bihar’s Khagaria district, had been working there for six months and could not be reached after the incident. The family had received news of the collapse from a relative, but his phone remained switched off.
The incident is the fourth major building collapse reported in Delhi in three months, according to the report. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Delhi minister Ashish Sood and Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra visited the site. Rescue work, identification of missing workers and the police and civic inquiries were continuing.
