4 killed, 14 hurt in building collapse near Karol Bagh in central Delhi

A five-storeyed building in Bapa Nagar, which is close to Karol Bagh in central Delhi, collapsed on Wednesday morning, leaving four people, including a minor, dead and 14 people injured. Police said they are probing the cause of the collapse, but locals said the building was at least 60 years old and its owner was aware of its shortcomings.
The incident took place at around 9am; search and rescue operations lasted for over eight hours, concluding around 5.30pm, as officials faced challenges navigating the congested lanes.
The deceased were identified as Mohammed Mujeeb, 18, his brother Mohammed Mukim, 25, Aman Khan, 12, and Mohsin Khan, 26, all from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. The four deaths took the number of building collapse fatalities this monsoon to at least over 16, according to HT analysis.
However, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said the building was structurally sound during a check in the run-up to monsoon.
“It was a very old building. The area falls in special area category. The area of the plot is approximately 25-30 square metres. The reason of collapse could not be ascertained. The building had not been found to be in dangerous condition during the pre-monsoon survey done by the maintenance department. Neither new construction was being taken up nor building material was found in or around the collapsed premises,” an MCD spokesperson said.
Read more: 3 dead, 14 injured after two-storey building collapses in Delhi’s Karol Bagh
“Around 9am, information of a building collapse was received at Prasad Nagar police station. When police reached the spot, it was found that an old five-storeyed building approximately 25 square yards collapsed and people were trapped in the rubble. A part of the building also fell on an adjoining building, leading to its wall collapse as well,” deputy commissioner of police (central) Harsha Vardhan said, adding that the fire department, National Disaster Response Force and police began the rescue operation.
Meanwhile, Delhi chief minister-designate Atishi visited the hospital and met the injured. She also announced compensation of ₹10 lakh each to the families of the deceased.
“I have ordered the district magistrate to help out the injured and their families in every possible way and ensure treatment. I have also spoken to the mayor about the incident… Delhi has seen excessive rain this year and I request the people of Delhi to contact local authorities at the earliest in case of any construction related incidents,” posted Atishi on X (formerly Twitter), on Wednesday morning.
The injured were identified as Mohammed Salim, 45, Sunny Khan, 15, Mohammed Owais, 33, Junaid Khan, 26, Ikramuddin, Nizamuddin, 32, Gulfam, Arab, Saran, Kavita Tomar, Jyoti Tomar and her son Aarav.
Locals said the building was a factory-cum-residence as workers made women’s slippers there. However, police officials said the building was registered as a residential property.
A fire department official said that five people had been rescued before they arrived at the spot and by noon, 12 people were moved to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Lady Hardinge Medical College. Of the 12, two people were declared dead.
Around 5pm, the last man was rescued but was declared dead at the hospital. The man was identified as Mohsin.
Right after the incident, residents of two adjacent buildings were asked to vacate their houses for safety purposes.
Poonam Kumari, 21, who lives in a house opposite the collapsed building, said: “I was sleeping and everyone else in the house had gone to work. Suddenly, there was a loud thud. It felt like a cloud had burst. I stepped out and saw the building had collapsed and people were shouting for help.”
A fire official said it was a challenge to carry out the rescue operation because the street was extremely congested and there was no space to deploy large equipment. “Officials had to remove the debris manually because there was no space for a vehicle to reach the spot. If there was space, we could have used a dumper to remove the debris,” the official said.
Another official at the spot said there was no space to dump the debris. “We were removing the debris and dumping it in another room. In fact, there was very little space for stretcher also. Some of the rescued were carried on shoulders of the officials till the opening of the street,” the second official said.
DCP Vardhan said MCD was asked to clear the area. “A case under sections 106 (causing death by negligence) and 290 (negligent conduct with respect to building) of the BNS was registered and further probe is underway,” he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party blamed MCD and demanded ₹1 crore in compensation for the deceased, but MCD maintained the building was not found potentially dangerous in its survey.