The building had a coaching institute on the ground floor and construction work was underway on upper floors. It is suspected that those trapped maybe students.
As many as 12 people were rescued, two with critical injuries, after a five-storey commercial building collapsed near the Saket metro station in south Delhi on Saturday evening.
The entire structure was reduced to a massive mound of rubble, with twisted metal, broken pillars and concrete slabs scattered across the site.
“A total of 12 people have been rescued. Two are critically injured. It doesn’t look like anyone else is trapped but the search operation is still ongoing,” a senior police officer said, adding that a case will be registered over the incident.
A multi-agency operation is underway to search for anyone who may still be trapped under debris, officials said.
Witnesses said cries for help could be heard from beneath the debris. “All we could hear were screams coming from under the rubble. There was a huge cloud of dust. When it settled, we realised that part of an adjoining structure had also been affected,” a local resident said.
The building, with a coaching institute, cafes and offices operating in it and construction work underway on the third floor, collapsed around 7.45 pm on Western Marg in Saidulajab area near Saket metro station.
According to Delhi Fire Services (DFS), three people were rescued by local and PCR personnel before firefighters arrived, while others were pulled out by DFS personnel with assistance from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).
Fire officials said the ground-plus-three-floor building collapsed completely, toppling onto an adjoining temporary tin-shed canteen where students were having dinner. Balwant Yadav, father of an injured student, said his 25-year-old daughter Neelam was at the canteen adjacent to the building when the structure came crashing down. Neelam had recently returned from abroad after completing her MBBS and was preparing for her postgraduate entrance examination at Arise Medical Academy in Saket.
“At the time of the incident, around 30 to 35 students were present in the canteen. Most of them were students preparing for various medical entrance examinations at the institute. My daughter suffered a fracture in her leg and is currently undergoing treatment,” Balwant said.
Residents said the building was frequented by a large number of students and office-goers.
Locals had claimed around 100 to 150 people could be trapped under the debris.
“Around 100 to 150 people may be trapped under the collapsed building. Several cafes, coaching centres and corporate offices were operating from the premises.
“The building was relatively new and probably constructed around four or five years ago,” said Ravindra Singh, a local resident.
Dharamveer Singh, an official from the district magistrate’s office present at the site, said rescue personnel were working to reach those still trapped underneath.
“The exact number of fatalities, if any, can only be confirmed after all the trapped individuals are evacuated and shifted to hospital,” he said.
Ravinder Singh, president of the Chaar Gaon Committee, said many of those feared trapped could be students.
Aspiring doctors come here for coaching and other courses, and some of them may be among those trapped in the collapsed building, he said.
According to DFS officials, three fire tenders and an emergency response vehicle were initially dispatched. Additional fire engines and a lighting vehicle were later rushed to the scene as the scale of the collapse became clear.
Firefighters, NDRF personnel, police teams and local residents are jointly carrying out search operations. Heavy machinery, including JCB excavators, have been pressed into service to carefully remove debris. Teams are using hydraulic cutters and jacks to cut through steel girders and concrete slabs, while specialised equipment such as victim-location cameras, earth-auger drilling machines and trained sniffer dogs are on the site to search the debris.
Visuals from the site showed anxious relatives, residents and students gathering around the debris as rescue teams worked under floodlights.
Several rushed between hospitals, including AIIMS, in search of information about their loved ones. Many said they were unable to immediately ascertain whether relatives inside the building had been rescued or were still trapped.
Police said an investigation would subsequently examine ownership of the building, whether necessary permissions had been obtained for construction activities and whether any lapses contributed to the collapse.
