5 dead, several trapped after multi-storey hostel collapses in Delhi’s Satya Niketan

An FIR under Sections 105, 290, and 125(a) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), relating to culpable homicide, negligence during construction or repair of buildings, and rash and risky act that endangers life respectively, has been registered against the alleged owner and others, DCP (South West) Amit Goel said.

#WATCH | Delhi: NDRF personnel, along with a dog squad, carry out rescue operations at the site of a building collapse near Satya Niketan in South-West Delhi. More details are awaited.

As per Delhi Police, the exact number of persons trapped/injured is not known at present. 2… pic.twitter.com/USbbNjfZmc

— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2026

None of the alleged accused had been apprehended till late on Sunday night. “Multiple teams have been formed to trace the alleged persons,” Goel said.

According to police, the building offered paying guest (PG) accommodation to students and others.

“It is alleged that renovation work was being undertaken at the ground floor, which led to the collapse of the building,” an officer said. The work, which allegedly included excavation of the basement, may have weakened the foundations of the building, sources said.

A PCR call was received at 1.34 pm about a building collapse near Nanakpura Gurdwara, DCP Goel said. At least eight fire tenders rushed to the spot and began relief and rescue operations, police said. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also joined the rescue.

Teams, including officials from the Delhi Fire Services, reached the spot and launched a rescue operation. (Express Photo by Afshana Ali)

The Satya Niketan area is popular with students studying in Delhi University’s South Campus and in several undergraduate colleges in the area. Hundreds of students stay in rented rooms in private residential buildings that are used as hostels or PG accommodation.

Goel said some students may have been staying on rent in the building that collapsed. Sources in the police said around 30 students lived in the rooms in the private hostel.

Four people were brought dead to hospital, and the fifth succumbed to his injuries, Goel said. At least one of the dead was a student, sources said.

The collapse of a building at Satya Niketan, Delhi is distressing. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured. Authorities are working at the site and assisting those affected in the mishap: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) September 6, 2026

Late at night, sources in the Delhi Fire Services said among the deceased are two young men of ages 19 and 20 years, a 35-year-old man, and an elderly man of age around 75.

“The exact number of persons trapped under the rubble is not known at present,” Goel said. Residents of the area were helping the authorities in the search and rescue operations.

Several vehicles parked near the building were damaged as large chunks of concrete fell on them.

In a statement posted on X, the Prime Minister’s Office said the collapse of the building was distressing. “Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who went to the spot and then to AIIMS where the injured were admitted, told reporters: “Whoever is responsible for this, whether it is the building owner or an official, will not be spared.”

Building collapse in South Delhi. (Express photo by Abhinav Saha)

The Chief Minister said the building was old, and some construction and renovation work had been underway. “Some kind of excavation was being carried out in the basement, due to which a pillar shifted and the building collapsed. The building was being used as PG, and children were inside. All agencies are continuously working. Our priority is to save the lives of these children first,” she said.

Lieutenant Governor Taranjit Singh Sandhu posted on X: “Deeply concerned to learn of the building collapse at Satya Niketan, RK Puram… Praying for the safety and well-being of everyone affected.”

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said the news of the building collapse was “extremely heartbreaking and alarming”, and appealed to the NDRF, Delhi Fire Services and other rescuers to make every effort to reach those who were trapped and to ensure that the injured received immediate medical treatment.

He said Congress and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) workers were present at the site and ready to assist the rescue teams.

“Students’ lives were already filled with struggles — now the situation has turned life-threatening. Due to the lack of good hostels in colleges or universities, students are forced to live in PG accommodations, 40-40 at a time under one roof, in inhumane conditions,” Gandhi posted on X.

Deeply concerned by the building collapse incident at Satya Niketan, RK Puram.

Teams from DDMA, NDRF, Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, MCD, CATS and Civil Defence are carrying out rescue operations on a war footing. The adjacent building has been vacated as a precautionary…

— Rekha Gupta (@gupta_rekha) September 6, 2026

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal said: “The incident of the building collapse…is extremely tragic and alarming… Due to the government’s negligence in Delhi, many such accidents have already occurred. The government must wake up from its slumber.”

Late in the evening, around 150-200 activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ organisation affiliated to the ruling BJP, attempted to enter the office of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) at the Civic Centre to protest against the building collapse.

The protesters raised slogans against MCD and demanded the resignation of the MCD Commissioner. Police detained around 15 of the protesters and took them to Kamla Market police station.

#WATCH | Delhi: NDRF personnel, along with a dog squad, carry out rescue operations at the site of a building collapse near Satya Niketan in South-West Delhi. More details are awaited.

As per Delhi Police, the exact number of persons trapped/injured is not known at present. 2… pic.twitter.com/USbbNjfZmc

— ANI (@ANI) September 6, 2026

Rescue operations were particularly difficult because heavy earth-moving machines could not be used freely when people were feared trapped under the rubble, sources said. The pressure and vibration from heavy equipment could shift the debris and endanger those who were trapped, they said.

Rescue teams are therefore proceeding cautiously, removing debris manually, piece by piece, while listening for people trapped underneath, the sources said.

Director of Delhi University’s South Campus Prof Rajni Abbi told The Indian Express that some of the students trapped under the rubble had been calling, and even making video calls. However, she said she did not have details of the number of students who had contacted the university, or of the condition they were in.

Abbi said South Campus colleges such as Maitreyi College and Jesus and Mary College had been opened to accommodate PG students who had been asked to vacate their accommodation adjoining the collapsed building.

Building collapses near Delhi’s Chanakyapuri, many feared trapped

Read: https://t.co/xFcDO5RdfY pic.twitter.com/CegI8oYBm3

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) September 6, 2026

Power supply has been affected in parts of the neighbourhood. Certain adjoining women’s student hostels had also been evacuated as a precautionary measure. Abbi said students were being provided support at the university’s hostel and guest house facilities.

In a post on X, the University of Delhi said: “We are deeply pained and saddened… Our thoughts are with the students and families affected. We pray for the safe rescue of all those trapped and stand ready to support our students in every possible way.”

A similar incident took place in Satya Niketan in 2022, in which two people were killed and several others were injured. The terrace of a three-storey house undergoing renovation had collapsed, trapping six workers.