The Delhi Fire Service officials said that a call had been received around 8.30 am regarding the collapse, adding four fire tenders were rushed to the site. (Express)Three labourers and two locals were injured when a four-storey building under construction collapsed in North Delhi on Friday morning. The Delhi Fire Services had received a call regarding the incident in the Azad Market area at 8.30 am and rushed four fire tenders to the spot.
By afternoon, DFS personnel and labourers were at work removing rubble from the site, while NDRF teams with equipment such as electrical saws were also present. MCD machinery and personnel were deployed as well. Meanwhile, the injured had been taken to the nearby Hindu Rao hospital.
#WATCH | Three people hospitalised as under-construction building collapses in Azad market pic.twitter.com/SRzdxGVxK6
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DCP (North) Sagar Singh Kalsi said: “… prima facie and on basis of the medico-legal report, a case has been registered under IPC sections 288 (negligent conduct with respect to buildings) 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life) and 34 (common intention).”
One of the injured men, jeweller Aziz-ur-Rehman (45), said: “I was taking my parked bike from near the building to take my son to school. All of a sudden, the building collapsed and I was covered in rubble. I was struck on the head and back… the doctors have treated me and I am better now.”
While Aziz needed a CT scan, his family said his son, standing only metres away, had a narrow escape.
Sufi Rustam Ilahi (42), a fabric painter, was amongst those who helped rescue Aziz and the other local, Jamil. He said, “I barely escaped… Jamil and Aziz were buried but we could hear them calling for help and we took them out of the rubble.”
Out of the seven labourers at the site, three of them, all relatives, sustained injuries. Sambhu Yadav, a fellow labourer said, “My brothers Nitesh (29) and Congresh (34) were injured in the face and head, along with my cousin Amarjeet (21)… Nitesh’s wrist is fractured. We came in the morning to do our work of moving building material to the top floor…. when it collapsed.” Doctors at the hospital said that all five patients were stable.
Commenting on the incident, the MCD said the building had been approved in a 81 sqm property under the SARAL scheme with no deviation at the time of inspection. They also said the incident appeared to have been caused by sub-standard material and heavy load on the building, noting that the exact cause could only be found after debris removal. They had also deployed 10 trucks and labourers to remove rubble.