Sudden tremor, then a pile of rubble: Eyewitnesses recall Delhi building collapse

Residents described panic and confusion after the five-storey Hostel Daze building collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan, with some saying it felt like an earthquake.

In Short

• “It felt like an earthquake,” residents said after the building collapsed
• Residents used bare hands to clear debris as students were feared trapped
• 8 fire tenders and rescue teams were rushed to the site after the collapse

A five-storey building housing students collapsed in Satya Niketan near Delhi University’s South Campus on Sunday, prompting rescue teams to rush to the site as local residents joined the search for those feared trapped under the debris.

The building, known locally as Hostel Daze, stood in a congested area lined with private student hostels, eateries and shops. Residents said repair and construction work was being carried out in the basement before the collapse.

Police said they received a PCR call at 1.34 pm, following which eight fire tenders and multiple rescue teams were sent to the spot.

Local resident Rajen Chhetri, who works with the Delhi Police, said the building had around 15 rooms, with two to three students staying in each room. According to him, most of the students were from Kerala, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and studied at nearby colleges, including Motilal Nehru College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College and Sri Venkateswara College.

Students were paying around Rs 12,000 per bed, Chhetri said.

“I have been living here for the last 20 years. Some construction work was going on in the basement, where water had started accumulating. The foundation was also extremely weak,” he said.

Residents said they began removing debris with their bare hands and whatever tools were available before or alongside the arrival of rescue teams.

One resident told PTI that he felt a slight tremor before the building came down.

“We felt a slight tremor in our house. It felt like the ground shook, like an earthquake. We ran outside,” he said.

The resident also claimed that the adjoining building appeared to be leaning and could be at risk. He estimated that 50 to 60 students could still be inside the collapsed structure, though the figure could not be independently verified.

Another resident told PTI that around 35 to 40 students were staying on the upper floors and that some were sleeping when the building collapsed. He said construction work was taking place in the basement and that he had left the building only minutes before the collapse.

“As soon as I came out, the whole thing collapsed,” he said.

Another resident said his nephew narrowly escaped after riding his bike past the building moments before it collapsed.

The structure came down with a loud crash shortly after he passed, the resident said, quoting his nephew as saying, “It was a matter of seconds.”

Residents said many of the students staying at the hostel were from Kerala. Since it was Sunday, several students were believed to have been inside the building, while others had gone home for the weekend, they said.

Priyanka, a resident who said she had lived in the area for more than two decades, raised concerns over the condition of buildings in Satya Niketan and the conversion of residential properties into paying guest accommodations.

“Many houses have been converted into boys’ PGs, with the owners shifting elsewhere. They simply name the properties as PGs, take the rent online and leave them to operate,” she said.

She claimed the collapsed building was more than 20 years old and said she had not seen maintenance work being carried out there.

“The whole of Satya Niketan is full of PGs, and hardly 30 per cent of the house owners actually live here,” she said.

Residents also pointed to open drains and sewers in the locality and called for structural inspections of old buildings being used as student accommodation.

The cause of the collapse and the exact number of people trapped or injured were not immediately clear. Authorities were continuing rescue and relief operations at the site.

(With inputs from PTI)

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