A 26-year-old man was killed and at least eight others injured after a four-storey building housing guest accommodation collapsed in south Delhi’s Saidulagap area near Saket Metro station on Saturday evening.
The multi-agency rescue operation continued throughout the night, with teams pulling nine people from the rubble, while authorities continued search efforts amid fears that more people could be trapped under the rubble.
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According to Delhi Fire Services (DFS) officials, nine people were recovered from the rubble till around 3.45 am on Sunday. Eight of them were admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Center for treatment, while doctors declared one person, identified as Ravi, dead on arrival.
Police have identified the injured as Tarun Kumar (26) from Gurugram, Sika Khan (27) from East Champaran district in Bihar, Neelam Yadav (25) from Sidulagab, Aditya Sharma (24), Kshitij Pratap (25) from Noida, Anuj Dikshi (25), Astha (25) and Vishal (24).
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DFS received a call about the collapse at 7.44pm. The incident occurred in the West Meadow area of Sidulagap District, a densely populated area known for its many paid guest accommodations, training centers and student messes.
Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services (DFS), Delhi Police, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Civil Defense and CATS Ambulance Service worked throughout the night to clear the rubble and search for survivors. Of the nine people rescued so far, rescue teams have pulled out seven, while two were rescued by local residents before emergency personnel arrived, officials said.
As the operation continued, anxious students gathered outside the narrow corridor leading to the collapse site, trying to locate missing friends believed to have visited the chaos.
Gaurav Kumar, 23, who lives in a nearby PG residence, said: “My friend and I study at a nearby coaching centre, and we eat in a mess sometimes. I learned around 8pm that the building next door has collapsed. I have been calling him for hours and he is not answering, even though the call is ongoing, so I am really worried that he is trapped inside.”
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the government was closely monitoring the situation and all available resources had been deployed for rescue efforts.
“Teams from NDRF, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, DDMA, MCD, CATS and Civil Defense are carrying out rescue operations on a war footing,” Gupta said in a post on X.
She added that every effort is being made to rescue those trapped and provide immediate assistance to the affected families. “All relevant agencies are coordinating their efforts to ensure that the safety and well-being of every citizen remains a top priority,” she said.
Police said search and rescue operations are continuing until the last trapped person is found. The exact cause of the collapse has not yet been confirmed.
