What did the students who witnessed the hostel collapse incident in Delhi tell BBC?

A five-storey building collapsed in Satya Niketan Market area of ​​Delhi on Sunday afternoon, in which many students studying in Delhi University are feared to be buried.

Delhi Police has so far confirmed the death of three people while seven rescued people have been admitted to the trauma center of AIIMS.

Police said that information about the collapse of the multi-storey building was received at 1.30 pm on Sunday. After this, teams of fire department, police and NDRF were sent for relief and rescue operations.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also reached the spot. He told the media that excavation was going on in the basement of the building, due to which the pillars shook and the building collapsed.

Many leaders including PM Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge have expressed condolences regarding the incident.

BBC correspondent Shubh Rana spoke to some eyewitness students present at the spot, some of whose acquaintances lived in the building where the accident took place.

The statements of most of the students revealed that most of the buildings in Satya Niketan are 4 or 5 storeyed. Students coming from different states and living nearby are in fear.

Some students said, "We could be the next targets and after this incident our parents are calling us back home."

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What did the students tell?

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Sawai Sharma, a student of Venkateshwar College in Delhi University's South Campus, told BBC News Hindi that due to non-availability of hostels in the college, many students stay in PGs.

He said, "A friend of mine lived in the building where the accident took place, who narrowly escaped death. I often used to go to his place to eat food but today I was out by chance. There is a lot of hostel problem here."

Sawai Sharma said, "There are 75 students in Sociology Honors but only two children get seats in the hostel. All the other children live here. It costs Rs 18,000 for a bed here. It is a compulsion for the children to stay here."

Another student, Deependra Singh, while talking to BBC News Hindi, claimed, "This building was blacklisted a year ago. But when the new batch of children came in 2026, the children started living here again. Don't know how it was opened."

However, BBC does not confirm this claim.

Deependra Singh further said, "No authority does anything here. If a committee is formed and an investigation is conducted, many such buildings will be found in Satya Niketan area which will be seized immediately."

"This is a very congested area and it gets knee-deep in water after 10 minutes of rain, whereas this is considered the center of the South Campus as more than 50,000 children live here. There are more than 100 PG hostels," Deependra said.

Another student named Sahil said that there is no hostel facility in the university. The condition of all the buildings here is the same.

He told that his friends from Motilal and Ramlal College lived inside the building where the accident took place.

Swati, a student, said, "Many students lived in this building. It collapsed because work had started in the basement and the pillars were not strong."

Another student Aadya said, "The problem here is discussed only when DUSU elections are held. It is promised that there will be good accommodation, good facilities. If our colleges give us hostels then children might not live in such cramped spaces."

He told that his parents are very worried because earlier the AC of their own PG had caught fire.

'Police did not arrive for half an hour'

Neeraj Bawa, a friend of Ramlal Anand's student Shivam Yadav, lived in the building where the accident took place. Neeraj was in his room at the time of the accident.

Shivam Yadav said, "He is a student of Motilal Nehru College. At the time of the accident, he was in the building on the third floor. He has been rescued and sent to the hospital. He is a resident of Jammu."

Shivam Yadav said, "Most of the buildings in Satya Niketan are overloaded. All the children of the five colleges in the South Campus live in Satya Niketan. And the condition of the buildings is very dilapidated. No inspection is even done. There are no rules or guidelines here. The entire building has been erected on a four-by-five-inch wall."

Shivam Yadav claimed that 50 children are trapped in the debris of the building.

A student told BBC News Hindi that he was drinking tea with his friends when the building collapsed.

He told, "No police administration had reached here for half an hour. We tried to remove the debris with our hands. There is no rule here as to how many children will stay in the PG, what is the condition of the building."