Seven killed when building collapses in Old Delhi, India

Seven killed when building collapses in Old Delhi, India

2011-09-28 22:21:25 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- At least seven people were killed when a three-story building collapsed in northern India on early Tuesday evening, officials said on Wednesday. More than two dozen others were injured.

The building, located in the Chandni Mahal area of the walled city of Old Delhi near New Delhi, collapsed at around 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday evening, police officers told the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS). According to preliminary reports, digging at a construction complex near the building ultimately caused the building to collapse.

Police said at least seven people were confirmed to have been killed in the accident, while 25 others were injured and taken to area hospitals. One of the survivors rescued from the debris was a five-year-old boy named Amaan, IANS reported.

Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) spokesman Deep Mathur told the media outlet that the deputy commissioner of the city zone would conduct the inquiry into the accident, and a preliminary report of the inquiry was to be submitted to MCD Commissioner K.S. Mehra on Wednesday.

The bodies of the victims were transported to the Lok Nayak Hospital where medical officials identified them as one man and four women. They were identified as 40-year-old Arshad, 18-year-old Tabassum, 65-year-old Shauqat Bi, 65-year-old Fatima, and 70-year-old Munni Devi. Two other bodies remain unidentified.

Right to Information (RTI) activist Rizwan khan told IANS that several construction projects have been carried out in the area recently, explaining that the group has already filed several applications to learn how such an accident can occur under government regulations.

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