Building Collapses Near Satya Niketan in New Delhi; Students Feared Trapped

A building collapsed near Shiv Mandir in Satya Niketan

NEW DELHI: Several students are feared trapped after a building collapsed near Delhi's Satya Niketan area on Sunday afternoon. The Delhi Fire Services received a call about the collapse at around 1.33pm. Rescue teams reached the site at around 1.50pm and began search operations. Several teams, including Search and Rescue, Breathing Apparatus and Water Bowser units, have been deployed at the site.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta said teams from several agencies were carrying out rescue operations at the site and that an adjacent building had been evacuated as a precaution. In a post on 'X', she said "Deeply concerned by the building collapse incident at Satya Niketan, RK Puram. Teams from DDMA, NDRF, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, MCD, CATS and Civil Defence are carrying out rescue operations on a war footing. The adjacent building has been vacated as a precautionary measure. Every possible effort is being made to safely rescue those trapped and provide immediate assistance to the affected families. " "The situation is being closely monitored, and all concerned agencies are working in coordination. The safety and well-being of every citizen remain our highest priority," she added further.

BJP MLA from RK Puram, Anil Kumar Sharma, who was present at the site, said several students living in a paying guest accommodation were feared trapped inside the collapsed building. "This is an extremely tragic incident—nothing could be more heartbreaking than this. Our children who come from various regions to study here and were residing in a PG accommodation... a building has collapsed... Just now, two children were pulled out, and teams from the disaster management forces, MCD, and the police department have rushed them to the hospital. "Other children remain trapped inside; in fact, some of them are even placing phone calls from beneath the rubble. It appears that several children are still trapped. Continuous rescue efforts are underway, and we are praying for their safety," Sharma said.

"The Honorable chief minister has dispatched the full emergency response team to the spot. The Member of Parliament, Harsh Malhotra, is in constant contact over the phone. The entire administration is deeply concerned and closely monitoring the situation. Our foremost and immediate priority is to rescue the children by all possible means," he added further. Rescue operations are continuing at the site as emergency teams search for those trapped under the rubble.

'They were constructing a basement'

An eyewitness at the site described hearing a loud sound before the building collapsed and said several people were still believed to be trapped under the rubble. "I have a shop nearby. We were sitting inside it when we suddenly heard a sound—like the rumble of an earthquake. We rushed out immediately; there was a lot of smoke and dust here. The entire building had collapsed. "Some bodies were recovered, and they also rescued four children who were still breathing. Sounds are still coming from within the rubble—children crying out, "Save us, save us!"...

"There are at least 25–30 children. There was a boys' PG and a girls' PG here nearby. 4-5 people have been rescued; 2-3 bodies have been recovered and more are likely to be found. "They were constructing a basement. They had reinforced the upper structure, but the pillars at the bottom were weak. They were renovating the building—specifically to create a rental space on the ground floor—and that caused the collapse. Laborers were working down below and got buried."