3 min readNew DelhiApr 20, 2025 03:05 AM IST
First published on: Apr 19, 2025 at 08:18 AM IST
Eleven people, including eight members of the family of a 2020 Delhi riots victim, were killed when a four-storey residential building collapsed in Dayalpur, in Mustafabad area of Northeast Delhi, in the early hours of Saturday. The dead included three children.
While 11 more people were trapped under the debris, they were rescued by late afternoon. The building is reported to have collapsed a little before 3 am; rescue efforts continued for over 12 hours, till about 4.30 pm.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said the building was around 20 years old and was an unauthorised construction.
The owner of the building, Tehsin (60), and seven from his family — son Nazeem (30), daughter-in-law Shahina (28), grandchildren Anas (6), Afreen (4) and Afan (2), younger daughter-in-law Chandni (23) and another relative Ishaq (75) — were among those killed.
Tehsin’s wife, Zeenat (58), and younger son, Chand (25), were among those injured. Tehsin’s other son, Aas Mohammad, was killed during the Northeast Delhi riots in 2020.
Among the others who died are brothers Danish (23) and Naved (17), and Reshma (38).
Rajender Atwal, Divisional Fire Officer, said the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) was alerted about the incident at 2.50 am. “At least 10 fire tenders were deployed for the rescue operation. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services and other civic agencies carried out the rescue operation,” he said.
Police sources said some shops were being constructed on the ground floor and the work was underway. The building collapse followed the duststorm in the city on Friday night, said police.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a probe into the incident. In a post on X, she said: “Deeply saddened by the tragic building collapse… An investigation has been ordered and strict action will be taken against the culprits.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to those who lost their loved ones and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000 each, he said in a post on X.
President Droupadi Murmu also expressed her condolences to all the affected families.
Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra and local MLA Mohan Singh Bisht visited the site in the afternoon. “All these colonies are unauthorised. We will act against the MCD officials who cleared these houses,” Mishra said.
“This was a pancake collapse, where the debris kept piling on top… A huge amount of concrete fell within a very small area, putting a lot of weight on the victims… The narrow lanes made it difficult to remove the debris,” an NDRF official said.
Rescue operation underway after a four-storey building collapsed trapping several people, in Dayalpur area of New Delhi. (Express Photo) 
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