A Delhi building collapse in Harsh Vihar, northeast Delhi, left at least two people feared trapped under rubble on Sunday evening after a slab gave way during construction work, prompting a multi-agency rescue operation that continued into the night.
The structure was originally an old single-storey building on which another floor was being built. At about 6.45 pm, a slab on the first floor appeared to collapse, bringing parts of the building down with it, according to the report. Local residents began clearing debris and searching for people who might have been trapped before emergency teams reached the site.
Five fire tenders, National Disaster Response Force teams, civil defence personnel, the National Disaster Management Authority, paramilitary personnel and Delhi Police were deployed for the rescue operation. Four ambulances were also sent to the location. Sniffer dogs were used as personnel searched through the debris.
The rescue effort was complicated by the built-up character of the area and its narrow entry and exit points. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Lamba said the area was completely enclosed, making it difficult initially to identify the exact building that had collapsed.
Police and local residents said two people might have been trapped beneath the structure. The report did not confirm their identities or provide a final account of their condition as rescue operations continued. Video from the site showed rescue personnel calling out for survivors and using mobile torches while working around broken bricks and exposed reinforcement bars.
A local resident said the roof slab of the first floor had been weak and that a new slab was being constructed to replace it. According to the resident, the old slab suddenly gave way, bringing down the new slab as well. Dilip, who was working at the site with 16 labourers, also said the new roof slab had just been built before the collapse.
The reported sequence places construction activity at the centre of the incident, but the supplied report does not establish an official cause. The condition of the existing structure, the method used to construct the replacement slab and whether the work had received the necessary approvals remain to be established by the authorities.
The collapse comes amid a series of fatal building incidents reported in northeast and south Delhi. Earlier in the month, at least four people were killed when a residential building collapsed in Seemapuri. In September, seven people died after a five-storey building collapsed in Satya Niketan following the removal of a retaining wall on the ground floor to merge two shops.
The latest incident again places attention on the risks created when construction or structural alterations are carried out in older, tightly packed neighbourhoods. Narrow access routes can delay emergency response, while adjoining buildings and unstable debris can make rescue operations more hazardous. The immediate official focus remained on locating anyone trapped and securing the site.
