Four labourers died and two others were injured after the roof of a factory collapsed in west Delhi’s Khayala on Saturday. The building housed a motor-winding unit.
The fire department received a call about the incident around 10 a.m., following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot, said Delhi Fire Service (DFS) director Atul Garg.
Six labourers, including three women, were inside the factory when the roof collapsed, said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Subodh Kumar. The workers were rescued by a team of officials and rushed to the two nearest hospitals: Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital and Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, Mr. Kumar said.
Four of the six labourers were declared brought dead while two others are undergoing treatment.
The deceased have been identified as Saina (36), Guddi (45), Twinkle (25) and Ramesh (35).
Locals were the first responders along with the workers on the other floors of the factory.
A loud sound rang across the building when tons of metal items fell on the people working on the top floor.
“Power supply to the entire building tripped and a cloud of dust covered the entire area. By the time rescue teams arrived, we had pulled out two women from the debris. Their faces were badly crushed due to heavy metal items falling on them... their faces were beyond recognition,” said Ramesh Sahu, a local.
The factory belongs to Mahendra pal, a resident of Uttam Nagar.
Lucky break
Aslam, a factory worker, said he was lucky as he had arrived 15 minutes late to work. “I was at the factory gate when I heard screams from the top floor. I, along with other workers, rushed to help and rescued several people. As per the duty chart, I had to report to the top floor where the accident happened,” said Aslam.
Sub-Divisional Magistrate of Patel Nagar has been informed for further legal proceedings and legal action is being taken, Mr. Kumar said.