New Delhi: Students trapped beneath the rubble of a six-storey building that collapsed in southwest Delhi were making phone calls asking for help on Sunday as rescue teams raced to reach survivors, Indian media reported.
The building, which housed a paying guest accommodation in the student-dominated Satya Niketan area near Delhi University’s South Campus, collapsed on Sunday afternoon, leaving several people feared trapped.
Delhi Police confirmed that at least two people had been rescued, while other media reports put the number pulled from the debris at six. Authorities had not confirmed how many people remained trapped.
Local BJP legislator Anil Kumar Sharma, who was at the scene, said some of the students buried beneath the wreckage were able to make phone calls.
“Some of the children are even making phone calls from beneath the rubble,” Sharma told reporters. “Several children are still trapped.”
Witness accounts suggested the number inside could be substantial, although estimates varied widely and could not immediately be verified. One eyewitness said as many as 50 students may have been in the building because it was a Sunday, while another local estimated that 20 to 30 could be trapped.
Cries heard beneath rubble
A student at the scene told ANI that cries for help could be heard coming from beneath the debris.
Dramatic visuals showed local residents joining the desperate search, digging through rubble with their hands even before heavy rescue machinery could reach the site.
In one video circulating online, a person appeared to be wedged beneath a large concrete slab as several people struggled to lift it.
At least 12 fire tenders were sent to the scene, while an excavator was deployed to remove concrete slabs and girders. Disaster response teams, Delhi Police, firefighters and ambulance crews were involved in the operation.
The building reportedly housed a 75-bed paying guest facility, described by witnesses as a men’s PG called Hostel Daze.
There were conflicting initial reports about the exact time of the collapse, with officials cited as saying it occurred around 1.30pm while some local accounts placed it earlier.
Rescue operation on ‘war footing’
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said rescue operations were being conducted on a “war footing” and that an adjoining building had been evacuated as a precaution.
“Every possible effort is being made to safely rescue those trapped and provide immediate assistance to the affected families,” she said, adding that all agencies were working together and the situation was being closely monitored.
Sharma said two students had been pulled from the wreckage and taken to hospital by emergency teams.
“Students are trapped underneath the debris, that is clear,” he said, while cautioning that it was too early to establish an exact number.
Several student organisations also reached the site to assist as emergency crews continued searching through the wreckage.
Satya Niketan, close to Delhi University’s South Campus, is home to a large student population and numerous paying guest accommodations.
Authorities had not immediately announced what caused the six-storey structure to collapse.
— With IANS inputs
