Four dead, 14 injured in building collapse in Bapa Nagar

Four people were killed, including two teenagers, two are in critical condition and 12 others were injured when a six-storey building collapsed in central Delhi's Bapa Nagar area on Wednesday morning. Rescue operations took more than eight hours.

Delhi Chief Minister-designate Atishi announced a compensation of Rs 1 million each to the families of the four fatalities and visited the RML Hospital where the injured are being treated.

During her visit, Atishi stated, “The families of the deceased will be given a compensation of Rs 10 lakh by the Delhi government,” adding that the compensation will also be given to the injured according to the severity of their injuries. She said that strict action would be taken against those responsible for this tragedy. Meanwhile, BJP MP from New Delhi Bansuri Swaraj also visited the victims.

The rescue operations were initiated by the local police and other agencies like Delhi Fire Services. However, later the NDRF was also called to join the rescue operations, which ended around 5:30 am. DCP M Harsh Vardhan said the building was old and located in the narrow lanes of a residential area in Bapa Nagar of Prasad Nagar.

“We cannot bring heavy machinery or cranes into the building for the operation, but the fire brigade, local police and NDRF teams are carrying out the rescue work,” he said.

Authorities rescued a total of 18 people who were taken to hospitals. “Four of them were declared dead in hospital, while two are still in critical condition, 11 are being treated and one person was discharged after treatment,” he said, adding that the collapse also caused damage to the adjacent building.

“We are initiating legal action under Section 106 (culpable homicide) and 290 (negligent conduct in demolition, repair or construction of building, etc.) of the BNS. Further investigation is underway,” he said. A senior MCD official said the area falls under the “special area” category.

“The cause of the collapse could not be ascertained. The inspection carried out by the maintenance department before the monsoon did not find any dangerous condition of the building. No new construction work was carried out nor was any building material found around or in the collapsed premises,” he added.

According to a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official, a distress call was received at 9:11 am reporting the collapse. Five fire engines were then dispatched to the scene.

Earlier, Delhi's Chief Minister-designate Atishi had directed the district officials to provide all possible help to the people of the area. “I have also spoken to the MCD mayor about the accident. There has been a lot of rain this year. My appeal to all the people of Delhi is that if there is a possibility of a construction-related accident, immediately inform the administration and the corporations. The government will help you immediately,” Atishi said.

However, this is not an isolated incident, as just on September 13, one person died and two others were injured when part of a building collapsed in Delhi's Nabi Karim area. On August 2, at least three people were reportedly killed when part of a two-story building collapsed in Delhi's Jahangirpuri area in the northwest of the country.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor lashed out at the AAP government and the civic body, demanding compensation of Rs 10 million for the dead and Rs 500,000 for each injured.