Two more bodies retrieved from Delhi building collapse site, toll rises to 4

The death toll in the three-storey building collapse in Old Delhi’s Hauz Qazi area rose to four on Saturday after two more bodies were retrieved from the debris, officials said.

One of the deceased was identified as Pankaj Sharma (40), a resident of Hanuman Nagar village in Bihar’s Khagaria district, while another, who was yet to be identified, was shifted by ambulance to Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. The remains were taken to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital for further proceedings.

The operation to find more people and clear the rubble continued two days after the building under construction collapsed in Sattara Gali near Ajmeri Gate, officials said.

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On the first day of the operation, two people were declared dead — Kishori (40) and Sanjeet (45) — and two others — Sahdev Chaudhary (25) and Firoz (37) — were rescued with injuries. Both the injured persons were reported to be stable.

The three-storey building collapsed near Chawri Bazar Metro station around 9.45 am on Thursday. Around 10 to 15 labourers were present at the construction site when the structure came crashing down, according to police.

The building was allegedly being constructed without the requisite approval on a 50-square-metre plot. An MCD official had said no building plan was sanctioned for the structure.

The civic body had also said the construction had reached the third floor and the building collapsed while the roof slab was being laid. The material used was non-engineered and had not set properly, the official had said.

In June, the Delhi Police had flagged unauthorised construction at the property. In a communication dated June 15, the SHO of Hauz Qazi police station had informed the MCD’s City Sadar Paharganj Zone about the construction work and identified the landowner and contractor as Furqan.

Police have registered an FIR under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the building owners and contractors. Efforts are underway to trace the builders.