Holiday plan, job hope end under rubble: Delhi building collapse kills 2 friends

A multi-storey building on Western Marg in Delhi's Saidulajab area collapsed on Saturday evening, bringing down tonnes of debris onto a tin-shed canteen popular among students preparing for competitive examinations. Six people have been killed in the incident.

In Short

• 6 people were killed, many trapped after building collapsed in Delhi's Saket
• Area frequented by students preparing for competitive examinations
• Residents heard cracking sounds, saw shaking glass, then the structure fell

A small celebration among six friends at a roadside canteen near Saket Metro station turned into a nightmare on Saturday evening when a multi-storey commercial building collapsed, killing at least six people and leaving several others trapped beneath the debris.

Among the victims was 28-year-old Kapil, who had recently appeared for an interview with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC). Friends told news agency PTI that he had invited a group of close companions to the canteen after the interview went exceptionally well. The results are expected in July.

The building, located on Western Marg in Delhi's Saidulajab area, came crashing down around 7.30 pm. Massive chunks of concrete and metal fell onto the tin-roofed canteen, a popular gathering spot for students preparing for competitive examinations such as GATE, NEET and the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE).

Kapil was joined by five friends, including two women, for the modest celebration. Among them was 23-year-old Nalin Ray, a resident of Bihar's Nawada district, who had recently completed his BTech and was preparing for the GATE examination.

Both Kapil and Nalin were former students of Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology (MIT) and were associated with a coaching institute in Delhi.

"Kapil had called his friends because his interview had gone very well. They were all sitting together in the canteen when the building suddenly collapsed," one of their friends told PTI.

For Nalin's family, the tragedy shattered plans that had seemed routine just hours earlier. According to his relatives, he had spoken to them earlier in the day and mentioned that he would soon return home during his upcoming holidays.

"Everything was normal. He was telling us that he would come home during the holidays," said his uncle, Baikunth Nath, who lives in Gurugram.

Nath said he received a call from one of Nalin's friends around 8 pm informing him about the collapse. He immediately rushed to the site and spent the entire night waiting for news.

"I stayed there till around 5 am hoping Nalin would be rescued. But he could not be located," he said. Nath also claimed that when he reached the spot, rescue teams had not yet arrived.

After returning home because his phone battery had died, Nath was informed that Nalin's body had been recovered from the rubble and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Family members said Nalin suffered severe head injuries. Relatives of other victims and injured persons admitted to the trauma centre also said that several people trapped under the debris sustained fatal head wounds after being struck by falling concrete and metal.

Hospital sources and family members identified Kapil and 24-year-old Ravi among the first confirmed student fatalities. Ravi reportedly suffered catastrophic injuries after an iron rod pierced his chest, while Kapil succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

Residents in the area recalled hearing unusual sounds moments before the structure collapsed.

"At first we thought it was an earthquake. The glass panes started shaking, and then we heard loud cracking noises. The building tilted and collapsed almost instantly," said a local resident who joined rescue efforts.

Several locals alleged that they had pointed rescuers towards locations where people might be trapped, but their suggestions were initially overlooked.

"We repeatedly told them where people could be trapped. Before specialised teams arrived, local residents managed to rescue eight or nine people on their own," another resident claimed.

The collapse reduced the commercial building to a mound of rubble. The structure housed coaching centres, offices and cafes, while construction work was reportedly underway on an upper floor at the time of the incident.

A large-scale rescue operation involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Delhi Police and local volunteers continued through the night until all trapped individuals were accounted for.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, and the exact cause of the collapse remains under scrutiny.

- Ends