A basement-plus-five-storey building in South Delhi's Satya Niketan area collapsed without warning, killing at least six people so far. Rescue and relief work continued through the night, and 11 people have now been pulled out of the debris in total. Investigators say the roughly 50-year-old, dilapidated structure had been turned into a rent-earning property without proper safety checks before tenants were allowed to move in. The scale of the collapse has left the area shaken.
Latest condition of hospitalised patients
All 10 patients injured in the Satya Niketan collapse were brought to the JPN Apex Trauma Centre at AIIMS. According to an update issued on September 6 by Dr Rima Dada of the PIC Media Cell at AIIMS New Delhi, four of them were declared dead on arrival. Another patient who was brought in with critical injuries did not survive treatment, adding further to the toll among those taken to hospital. Three patients are currently admitted and under treatment, one of whom required limb surgery because of the severity of the injury. A patient with minor injuries was discharged after being kept under observation for a few hours.
Overnight rescue operation, toll climbs to six
Delhi Police said one more person was pulled out of the rubble during overnight rescue work, but doctors declared the person dead on being taken to hospital. That took the death toll in the collapse up to six. A total of 11 people, both survivors and bodies, have now been recovered from the debris. Police and rescue teams remained at the site well into the night, continuing to search the rubble to make sure no one else was trapped underneath. Alongside the rescue effort, police also stepped up action to trace and identify those held responsible for the negligence behind the collapse.
The collapse, caught on camera
A camera installed at a temple directly opposite the building captured the entire collapse. The footage shows an elderly man sitting under an umbrella when the structure suddenly caves in and crashes to the ground. Within moments, a huge cloud of dust and debris engulfs the entire lane, sending people nearby fleeing in panic as they watch it happen. The footage lays bare just how sudden and violent the collapse was.
FIR against owner on the Chief Minister's orders
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the site and, based on a preliminary assessment, ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collapse along with the filing of an FIR against the building's owner. The Chief Minister's Office, posting on X, said those responsible for such a serious incident would be held fully accountable and face action under the strictest provisions of the law. The Delhi Police Commissioner said a case had been registered at the South Campus police station against the alleged owner, Hari Ram, and others. The building was actually being run as a PG, and the collapse is alleged to be linked to renovation work that was underway on the ground floor. Police have formed multiple teams to track down those named in the case.
A 50-year-old, crumbling building rented out in haste
The building is believed to be around 50 years old and had reportedly been in a dilapidated state for a long time. Its location close to Delhi University meant the area was packed with PG hostels, and the run-down building too was pressed into service as a source of rental income. Owner Hari Ram Bansal is alleged to have carried out alterations and fresh construction inside it over several months, without ensuring the structure could withstand the changes. Tenants, including students, were moved in as early as August even though construction work had not been completed. Labourers were working in the basement, where renovation was underway, at the very moment the building came down. Two of the six people rescued from the rubble were labourers, one of whom later died.
