The three-storey commercial building collapse near the Saket Metro station in south Delhi has left a 26-year-old man dead while eight others have been rescued, an official of the Delhi Fire Services said on Sunday.
The building on Western Marg in Saidulajab area collapsed on Saturday evening. The structure housed a coaching institute, cafes and offices, while construction work was reportedly under way on the upper floor at the time of the incident.
Officials said the building was completely reduced to rubble, with debris crashing onto an adjoining tin shed canteen frequented by students preparing for medical entrance examinations.
The deceased was identified as Ravi. The injured were identified as Tarun Kumar (26) of Gurugram, Saika Khan (27) from Bihar’s Motihari, Neelam Yadav (25) of Saidulajab, Aditya Sharma (24) of Saket, Kshitij Pratap (25) of Noida, Anuj Dikshi (25) of Saket, Aastha (25) of Saidulajab and Vishal (24) of Saket.
According to the DFS update on Sunday morning, six people were rescued by personnel of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) with the assistance from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and other agencies, while two were rescued by locals.
All eight injured people were admitted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.
A multi-agency rescue operation involving the NDRF, DFS, DDMA, Delhi Police and local volunteers continued overnight.
Rescue teams used heavy machinery, hydraulic cutters, victim-location cameras and sniffer dogs to search for those trapped beneath the debris.
