A building collapsed in Delhi’s Mustafabad locality early on Saturday morning, killing four and leaving many others trapped. Rescue operations, led by the NDRF, were launched to look for survivors under the rubble, with Delhi Police also joining the efforts. A spine-chilling CCTV footage captured the building collapsing, shrouding the locality in a huge cloud of dust. NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahedi said that approximately 12 people are believed to be trapped.
How Politicians Reacted?
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta lamented the tragic loss of life and said an investigation will be conducted to establish the reason behind the collapse. She also condoled: “I express my deepest condolences for all the people who lost their lives in this tragic accident. May God grant peace to the souls who left us early and give strength to their grieving families to endure this irreparable loss.”
MLA Mohan Singh Bisht, who is the Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, has expressed concerns about other structures in Mustafabad, citing impending dangers. He mentioned that he had earlier sounded a warning of the danger the building posed and had also cautioned the Delhi LG and MCD commissioner to initiate action against those responsible officials who were neglectful. “Three months ago, when I had won the election, I was in this neighborhood. I had mentioned then that this building might lead to an accident. I have informed the Delhi LG and MCD commissioner that the officials should be acted against for negligence,” he added.
Bisht also lashed out at the illegal construction of a number of buildings in the area, stating that although numerous families did not have proper electricity connections, electric poles were being found inside homes. The whole Mustafabad is loaded with harmful buildings. Buildings have been illegally built. The power companies are not offering power connections to the poor, yet there are electric poles within the houses. MCD and such departments are saturated with corruption, and this episode has uncovered them.”
Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressed his sympathies through a tweet on X (formerly known as Twitter), stating: “The building collapse in Mustafabad is highly unfortunate. My heartfelt sympathies are with the families who have lost their dear ones in this tragedy. I urge all party workers to cooperate fully with the administration in relief and rescue work.”
BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal also spoke about his sadness, ensuring that the government would act appropriately against the culprits: “This is a very sad incident. I pray to God to give support to all those who have been affected by it. The incident will be investigated, and the government will take action against the culprits.”
Details of the Incident
The collapse took place at about 2:39 am on Saturday, according to Sandeep Lamba, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police for North East District. The building was a four-story one. As informed by Divisional Fire Officer Rajendra Atwal, the first call came in at about 2:50 am. On reaching the spot, the team realized that the whole building had collapsed, and there were people trapped under the debris. The NDRF and Delhi Fire Service are working actively on the rescue mission.
