One dead, several injured after building collapses in Delhi’s Karol Bagh

One person died and several people were injured after a wall of an old building collapsed in the Karol Bagh area of Delhi on Friday, officials said.At least two people were rescued from the site and taken to Jeevanmala Hospital for treatment. The Delhi Fire Service said demolition work was underway at the building when the incident occurred.Delhi Fire Service Divisional Officer Ramgopal Meena said the department received information about the incident on Pyarelal Road, near Jewellers.

Fire officials reached the spot and learnt that two to three people had already been rescued and taken to the hospital.“ We received the call, informing us that an incident happened on Pyarelal Road, near Jewellers. Upon arrival, we learned that two to three people had already been rescued and sent to Jeevanmala Hospital. We are currently conducting a further search,” Meena told news agency ANI.He said the building was very old and in a dilapidated condition, though its exact age was not immediately known.“

Demolition work was underway here. We dont know exactly how old this building is, but it is a very old building. It was in a dilapidated state,” Meena said.Fire officials continued their search at the site to ascertain whether anyone else was trapped beneath the debris.The incident comes a month after a four-storey under-construction building collapsed in Delhi’s Rohini area, killing three people.In that incident, the Delhi Fire Service pulled three people from the debris.

One of them was injured, while two were declared dead. A fourth person was retrieved from the rubble by residents and taken to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.The deceased were identified as 20-year-old Noorul Huda, a resident of Bahraich in Uttar Pradesh; 51-year-old Ram Dua, a resident of Sector 16, Rohini; and 42-year-old Ram, also a resident of Sector 16, Rohini.The injured survivor, 34-year-old Saddam, a resident of Dwarka in northwest Delhi, remained hospitalised.The Rohini building was a ground-plus-four-storey structure spread over approximately 52 square metres.

It had originally comprised two 26-metre DDA flats.Rohini Deputy Commissioner of Police Shashank Jaiswal had said that after receiving information about the collapse, he reached the spot, followed by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, District Magistrate, National Disaster Response Force personnel and other officials. A joint rescue operation was subsequently launched, and an FIR was registered under relevant sections.The latest incident in Karol Bagh has again brought attention to the risks associated with work being carried out around old and dilapidated structures.

Further details about the number of people injured and the ongoing search operation are awaited.(with ANI inputs)