Update: two confirmed dead

This updates Awaaz Punjab's Sunday-evening report, published when rescue teams had reached the site and officials said trapping under the debris was not yet confirmed. Two people have now been confirmed dead. Read the first report

New Delhi: Two people died after slabs of a building collapsed at Milan Garden in the Harsh Vihar area of northeast Delhi, officials said. The victims, who were trapped under the debris, were rescued and rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared them dead. ANI reported on Monday morning that a body was recovered from the collapse site as rescue operations continued.

Source: ANI via Latestly

According to the Delhi Fire Service, it received information about the incident at about 6:40 p.m. on Sunday and rushed fire tenders to the spot. The incident occurred when a new floor was being constructed above an old house: a portion of the existing roof gave way, causing the newly laid slab above it to collapse as well and trapping two people under the rubble.

Source: BizzBuzz

2People confirmed dead after being pulled from the debris
6:46 p.m.When Delhi Fire Services received the collapse call on Sunday
1 + 1Old single-storey house, with one additional floor under construction

Teams from the Delhi Police and the Delhi Fire Service reached the spot and launched a rescue operation, joined by personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Civil Defence. Heavy equipment, including a JCB machine, was deployed to clear the debris, and rescue teams continued their efforts through the night. Additional DCP Sandeep Lamba said the original structure was an old, single-storey building with an additional floor being constructed on top, and that the enclosed lanes made it difficult even to identify exactly which building had collapsed.

Source: ANI via Latestly

Delhi Cabinet Ministers Kapil Mishra and Ashish Sood visited the site on Sunday night to take stock of the rescue operations. Mishra said a new lintel was reportedly being installed when it collapsed, bringing the floor below down with it and trapping two people — reportedly a father and his son. He said the circumstances surrounding the collapse would be investigated and alleged that such incidents were a direct consequence of illegal construction, referring to earlier collapses in Seemapuri, Seelampur, Mustafabad and Babarpur. Those remarks are the minister's allegation; officials said further details about the victims and the circumstances were awaited.

Source: ANI via Latestly

The Harsh Vihar collapse is the second deadly building collapse reported in the capital in October, after a portion of a multi-storey building came down in north Delhi's Seemapuri area earlier this month, renewing concerns about unsafe construction on older structures.

Source: Nation Press