The death toll from the collapse of two four-storey buildings in Delhi’s Rohini area rose to three, as two more bodies were recovered from the rubble in the early hours of Thursday morning. The buildings collapsed on Wednesday afternoon.
One person was rescued even as search and rescue operations continued. The bodies of Ram Dua, 62, the father of a building owner, and Kavi alias Nurul, 24, a labourer, were recovered between 12.45am and 2.30am on Friday.
A third person who was declared dead at the hospital was identified as Ram, 42, who worked as a two-wheeler mechanic. On Wednesday evening, another worker, Muhammad Saddam, 32 years old, was rescued.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Shashank Jaiswal said that the collapse was reported on Wednesday around 4.28 pm while some workers were working at the site. Rescuers from the National Disaster Response Force, Delhi Fire Services, Power Department and other civic agencies launched a joint operation.
The worker, Ram, was rescued and taken to hospital, where he was declared dead, Jaiswal said. Saddam was undergoing treatment. “The rescue operation is almost complete. The process of removing the rubble is still underway,” Jaiswal said. He added that a case had been registered.
Police said work on two four-storey buildings measuring 26 meters high had been ongoing over the past year and was nearing completion. Some finishing and roofing work was underway when the upper part of the building collapsed. A fire department official said that about eight people were trapped under the rubble.
Local residents said the collapse occurred like an earthquake. All four floors fell within seconds, and all nearby vehicles sank under the rubble. At least two of these vehicles were owned by police officers. Doaa was sitting in a chair in the parking lot of the two buildings when she collapsed.
