A THREE-STOREY building under construction in Old Delhi’s Chawri Bazar area collapsed on Thursday, killing two people and injuring four, officials said. More people are feared trapped under the debris, they said. Following the collapse, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) suspended two officials, an assistant engineer and a junior engineer. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ordered an inquiry into the collapse and directed the registration of an FIR against the contractor. The incident was reported at 9.50 am from Gali Sitara, near the Chawri Bazar Metro station. Two bodies were pulled out from the debris by a Delhi Fire Services (DFS) rescue team. Four people were taken to a hospital by locals before DFS teams arrived. The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, police said. An MCD official said construction work at the building had been halted around 15 days ago. Workers were removing the support system beneath the roof when the structure collapsed.

 

“The material used was nonengineered and had not set properly, which eventually led to the collapse,” the official said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said the building, located in the Hauz Qazi area, had been constructed up to the third floor and collapsed while the lantern (roof slab) was being constructed. “Three people have been rescued from there, out of which two were declared dead in hospital,” he said. People living in nearby buildings had been evacuated as an adjoining structure was in a precarious condition and was also being vacated, he added. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), DFS, MCD and police were present at the spot, with rescue operations underway. “We have come to know about these three people. Rescue efforts of the police, fire team and NDRF team are going on,” Singh said.