20-hour rescue operation ends in agony: 3 engineers, 2 doctors among 6 dead in Delhi's Saket building crash

NEW DELHI: Six people were killed and at least 10 wounded but rescued from the rubble of a multi-storey commercial building that “pancake-collapsed” in the densely populated Saidulajab in south Delhi Saturday evening. The upper floors of the five-storey building crashed onto the lower ones, causing massive slabs of concrete to land on a neighbouring canteen, a popular hangout for students of the locality’s coaching centres.

Those killed were the mess owner, Parvati, and three engineers (Kapil, Nalin Rai and Alok Verma) and two doctors (Ravi Verma and Ekta) who were eating dinner there. No one was in the building that collapsed.

A multi-agency rescue operation, spanning 20 hours, concluded Sunday afternoon when the final body was retrieved. Rescue teams deployed specialised victim-location cameras and acoustic listening devices to detect faint signs of life. Earthmovers, hydraulic cutters, drilling machines, and trained canine squads were deployed as well.

Delhi Police has filed an FIR on charges of culpable homicide against the absconding building owner, businessman Karamveer, and two contractors . Two MCD engineers have been suspended and a magisterial inquiry is underway. 3D mapping of the building is likely to be conducted on Monday.

The building housed offices and originally comprised a ground floor and three floors above, but two additional ones were built recently.

AFTER TRAGEDY, ACTION ON GROUND
An illegal expansion was allegedly underway on the top floor of the building ahead of the collapse, adding pressure on the structural frame that locals claimed was built using sub-standard raw material. There was no one in the building when it fell, authorities said.

A video shot by a bystander captured the exact moment when the floors folded, showing an ominous, thick cloud of dust blanketing the narrow lanes.

“The owner was aware of the risks involved, yet the construction continued,” said a senior cop, adding that a few months ago, they had conveyed their concerns to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) about the new construction activities there. “The structure was over a decade old and couldn’t bear the pressure of additional construction,” said an investigator.

The rescue operations proved exceptionally challenging due to the congested, narrow access lanes of Saidulajab, which severely restricted the movement of large emergency vehicles. The debris, rescuers said, had to be removed largely by hand, making the extraction slow. “The tin shed of the canteen had collapsed on top of all the victims. We removed the sheets piece by piece and, wherever necessary, cut them very carefully to ensure that those trapped underneath were not injured further,” the official said. “The process was time-consuming, but we had to proceed with caution.”

DCP (south) Anant Mittal said a green corridor was created to ensure swift and unhindered movement of ambulances, while teams were deployed at AIIMS Trauma Centre, Safdarjung Hospital and Pt Madan Mohan Malaviya Hospital to facilitate immediate medical assistance.

Chief minister Rekha Gupta monitored the situation through the night and ordered strict action against those responsible for the tragedy.

MCD suspended two senior engineers — an assistant engineer and a junior engineer — of the South Zone building department, citing grave slackness and total failure to check the ongoing illegal construction.

Apart from culpable homicide, police have also invoked Sections 290 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings) and 125 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of BNS against the absconding building owner and the contractors involved. “We have learnt that two contractors were involved in the project. They will be traced and questioned,” an officer said.

A high-level magisterial inquiry has also been constituted to investigate the exact technical cause of the structural failure, inspect structural design clearances, and probe how an unsafe commercial infrastructure was allowed to operate in total defiance of public safety laws.