Building collapse in Delhi's Satya Niketan kills at least one, traps dozens

Collapse in Satya Niketan

A five-storey building housing a boys' hostel collapsed on Sunday afternoon in Satya Niketan, a densely populated neighbourhood near Delhi University's South Campus, killing at least one person and trapping several others, officials said. The structure, known locally as 'Hostel Daze', stood in a congested area lined with private student hostels, eateries and shops.

Fire officer Abhilash Malik said about 30 to 40 people remained trapped in the rubble. Lawmaker Anil Sharma said some people had been rescued and several others trapped inside were making phone calls for help while rescuers remained in contact with them.

At least two people were hospitalised in critical condition, officials said. A preliminary inquiry suggested around 40-50 people may have been inside the building when it collapsed, a police official at the spot told Hindustan Times.

Rescue operations

Police, firefighters and crews from India's disaster response agency searched the rubble as earthmovers cleared debris to help rescuers reach those trapped inside. Teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, the National Disaster Response Force, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, CATS and the Civil Defence were involved, according to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

Gupta, who reached the site, said rescue teams were working "on a war footing". She said the building next to the collapsed structure had been evacuated as a precaution.

Locals and witnesses joined the rescue operation, using their hands and whatever equipment was available to clear debris, visuals from the site showed. Six people had been rescued by Sunday evening, Delhi Police said, while AIIMS Delhi sources said three patients had been admitted to the trauma centre in critical condition.

A video circulating among students offered a glimpse of the aftermath. Recorded from beneath the rubble, it showed a student amid broken concrete, his face and clothes covered in cement and dust, with blood flowing from the side of his forehead. The video was reportedly shared in an Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm (ARSD) College student group. One of the trapped students, Aditya, a first-year BCom student from Bihar studying at ARSD College, recorded the video, fellow student Vansh told PTI.

Building details and possible cause

The building housed around 15 rooms, with two to three students staying in each, according to local resident Rajen Chhetri, who works with the Delhi Police. Most students were from Kerala, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and studied at nearby colleges, including Motilal Nehru College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College and Sri Venkateswara College. They were paying around Rs 12,000 per bed, Chhetri said.

Chhetri said repair or construction work was underway in the basement, where water had started accumulating, and the foundation was "extremely weak". Police sources indicated that construction work was underway in the basement before the collapse, PTI reported.

A resident named Priyanka, who has lived in the area for over two decades, said buildings in the locality were increasingly being constructed up to five or six storeys, with many houses converted into boys' PGs. She alleged that owners simply named the properties as PGs, collected rent online and left without supervision, and said she had not seen any maintenance work carried out on the collapsed building.

Police said the building was around 50 years old, though some locals said it was over 20 years old. The collapse came after two days of incessant rains in Delhi, which locals said had caused waterlogging in the area.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately known, officials said. Building collapses are a recurring hazard in parts of India during the June-to-September monsoon, when heavy or prolonged rain can weaken ageing structures.

Official response

Delhi government constituted an inquiry committee to investigate the collapse, South Delhi BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri announced. He said an FIR had been registered against the building's owner, who police said lives in Gurugram, and that strict action would be taken against those responsible.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu directed agencies to ensure coordinated rescue efforts, while Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh said university officers and students were assisting with the rescue.

Student displacement and college support

As a precaution, some adjoining women's student hostels were closed and students were asked to vacate accommodations near the collapsed building. South Campus colleges, including Maitreyi College and Jesus and Mary College, offered to help displaced students, according to the Indian Express. At Maitreyi College, students arrived with their belongings by Sunday evening, with the college preparing to accommodate around 20 students, according to Ananya Shukla, a BA student coordinating the efforts.

A teacher at Motilal Nehru College said arrangements had been made for displaced students, including accommodation and food. Aryabhatta College also opened its gates to students seeking assistance.

Saniya Verma, a Masters student at the Delhi School of Economics who lives near Satya Niketan, said there had been no electricity in her accommodation since a power cut about 10 minutes after the incident. Many students were at the PGs because it was Sunday, she said.

Eyewitness accounts

Residents described a "sudden tremor" before the building came down. "We felt a slight tremor in our house. It felt like the ground shook, like an earthquake. We ran outside," a resident told PTI.

Another resident estimated that around 50 to 60 students could still be inside the collapsed structure, though the figure could not be independently verified. One resident said his nephew narrowly escaped after riding his bike past the building moments before it collapsed.

An eyewitness said the incident could have been much worse had it occurred on a working day, as many students had returned home for the weekend. "Very few were here," he said.

The narrow and congested lanes around the PG made it difficult for emergency vehicles to reach the building quickly, according to locals. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed to ensure free movement of ambulances, and bystanders were asked to stay away from the site.

As of Sunday evening, the exact number of people trapped or injured had not been officially confirmed. Police said in a statement: "The exact number of persons trapped/injured is not known at present. Further details will be shared as and when confirmed."