New Delhi, September 7: Seven people have died after a multi-storey building housing a paying guest accommodation collapsed in Delhi’s Satya Niketan area, while rescue teams have so far pulled 12 people alive from the debris, officials said on Monday.
The collapse occurred in South-West Delhi, prompting an extensive rescue operation involving the Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, National Disaster Response Force and Delhi Disaster Management Authority.
Rescue personnel continued searching the wreckage for survivors, with teams working through the night and into Monday. One survivor was rescued during the morning operation, while another body was recovered from the debris, taking the reported death toll to seven.The building housed a PG facility known as “Hostel Daze” and was reportedly being used by students studying at colleges affiliated with the University of Delhi.
Local residents said the structure was around five decades old and comprised a basement and five floors.Police have registered a case against building owner Hariram Bansal and others under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Bansal was arrested in Rajasthan, according to the report.The incident has triggered concerns over the safety of student accommodation in the national capital, particularly in older buildings being used as PG facilities.
The Delhi High Court on Monday expressed serious concern over the safety of students residing in PG accommodations and directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to inspect all PG hostels under its jurisdiction within a week.
The court’s direction comes amid wider concerns about the structural and safety conditions of private accommodation facilities used by students.
Meanwhile, Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh convened a meeting with college principals and urged institutions to review their residential facilities and speed up ongoing hostel projects.Singh also asked colleges to examine the availability of land and government schemes for constructing additional hostels.
The university observed a two-minute silence in memory of those who lost their lives in the collapse.The tragedy has once again drawn attention to the shortage of safe and affordable student accommodation in Delhi, where a large number of students depend on private hostels and PG facilities due to limited university hostel capacity.
Authorities are expected to examine the structural condition of the collapsed building and determine whether any safety, construction or regulatory violations contributed to the disaster.
