New Delhi: In a catastrophic structural disaster on Sunday, a five-storey residential building functioning as a student paying-guest (PG) accommodation abruptly crumbled into rubble in South Delhi’s dense Satya Niketan area. The tragedy has claimed at least three lives, leaving several students and occupants feared trapped beneath towering piles of concrete and twisted metal.

The area, known as a primary accommodation hub for students attending nearby South Campus colleges, witnessed chaotic scenes as local residents rushed onto streets following a deafening sound and thick clouds of dust that enveloped the neighborhood.

NDRF, Fire Services Mobilize Heavy Machinery

Emergency responders, including six teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), and local civil administration units, launched a massive multi-agency search and rescue drive within minutes of the alarm.

“Specialized concrete-cutting equipment, canines, and sensitive acoustic sensors have been pressed into service to locate trapped survivors in the hollow pockets under the slabs,” an on-site disaster official confirmed.

Paramedics stationed on site have rushed multiple critically injured individuals to nearby multi-specialty trauma facilities, while heavy hydraulic excavators work continuously to lift precarious lintels and slabs without causing secondary collapses.

Illegal Modifications and Excavation Under Scanner

While an official inquiry has been instituted, preliminary ground assessments suggest that unapproved basement excavation and structural modification work were actively underway prior to the incident. Municipal authorities had reportedly red-flagged unauthorized construction activities in the zone earlier.

Law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the perimeter and registered an FIR under relevant sections pertaining to causing death by negligence and endangering life through hazardous construction practices against the property management.