Out grazing sheep, 4 killed in building collapse at Bawana

Police identified the victims as Rukaiya Khatoon (55), Shahzad (25), Danish (24) and Afrin (9), who were from the Bawana JJ colony area. Their families alleged there was delay in rescue work — a claim police denied.

According to police, they were informed that a building near the DJB office had collapsed. So far, no FIR has been registered.

“We received a call around 2.45 am about the building collapse in Bawana. On reaching the spot, we found that the said building was built under the Rajiv Ratan Aawas Yojana and had 300-400 rooms/flats. Most of these were vacant. A portion had collapsed. We called three JCBs, a hydra crane and ambulances to the spot. Four-five persons were trapped under the debris. Some were pulled out and fire teams were called to help with rescue operations,” said DCP (Outer-North) Brijendra Yadav.

The Delhi government said it was “pained to learn about this tragic incident”. “An immediate departmental enquiry has been initiated into the matter. The government is closely monitoring the whole situation and it has been brought to light that the building was constructed during 2007-2010,” a government official said.

The Delhi Fire Service (DFS) said three-four fire tenders were rushed to the spot after they got a call regarding the incident. Senior DFS officer Rajiv Sinha said rescue operations took around four hours and they managed to pull out four people: “There was no problem in reaching the spot. Such operations take time. We managed to rescue four people, but the difficulties due to the rubble created some problems.”

The victims had bought sheep in the past few years to supplement their daily income by selling milk. Their families work in the Bawana Industrial area as low-skilled factory workers and earn Rs 300-400 per day for 12 hours of work.

Shehnaz was with her daughter, Afrin, at the spot in the afternoon when she heard a rumbling noise from the building. Her daughter was playing near it when it suddenly crashed down on them. Shehnaz managed to survive and was carried by locals to her home where a white tent, signifying a death in the family, erected outside her home confirmed her worst fears.

“Initially, we did not tell her that her daughter died. It was too much for her to bear. I pulled Shehnaz out of the rubble… She had tried to warn her daughter to not play in the area and as she turned her head, the building collapsed,” said Aslam Khan (27), a relative.

Rukaiya had just begun eating lunch when the building collapsed on top of her. Her 16-year-old daughter said, “I asked my mother to sit in the shade of the building to eat. She stood there with her tiffin box and water bottle when she vanished under the rubble before my eyes.”

Abdul Haq (56) was inconsolable when he heard that his son, Danish, was dead. He had arrived in Delhi just a few days ago from UP’s Amroha after his son called him: “My son had to hand over some money for our expenses. That building could have fallen any time. It was a disaster waiting to happen. We lost a son and a breadwinner of the family.”

Shahzad’s family, meanwhile, claimed locals had to carry out rescue work for over an hour before police arrived. “We had managed to get some people and a sheep out of the rubble. Police came with the bulldozers an hour later,” alleged Anwari, a relative.

Police denied the allegations and said a team reached the spot within minutes after the incident was reported.