Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

New Delhi:  At least five people were killed and 19 others injured when an old three-storeyed building collapsed near Old Delhi’s Jama Masjid area.

The incident took place at Chandni Mahal area at around 8 pm. Police say many people are still feared trapped under the debris.

Eight of the injured were rushed to the Lok Nayak Jaiprakash Narain Hospital where doctors declared three of them brought dead, hospital and police officials said.

Police said the building collapsed under the impact of an adjacent under-construction structure.

Local MLA Shoib Iqbal too said that an illegal construction next door may have caused the building collapse.

"The building, number 833, was heritage building, next to the police station. I had called the Station House Officer (SHO) this Sunday telling him that there is illegal construction going on. Unfortunately, due to digging, the building has collapsed leading to 20-25 people trapped," said Mr Iqbal.

The incident took place in a narrow lane and it affected the pace of rescue work as people could not reach the site. The scene was full of rubbles which rescue workers worked hard to remove in order to locate survivors.

A large number of locals gathered at the spot and helped in rescue work.

Fearing that nearby buildings may get affected, police evacuated people residing in them.

A seven-storeyed structure, built illegally, had collapsed in East Delhi last November, killing over 70 people and injuring many others.

The civic body has meanwhile said that it will soon launch an inquiry into the building collapse incident to ascertain the cause of the mishap.

Yogender Chandolia, Chairman of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s Standing Committee, said Commissioner K S Mehra has been asked to inquire into the incident.

"I have asked him to submit a report in tomorrow’s Standing Committee meeting," he said.

Mr Chandolia said there were several old and dilapidated buildings in the area. "We need to take a call on this," he said.