New Delhi

Four killed as houses built on drain collapse

Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

Ground zero: Rescue work in progress at the site where a cluster of houses built on a stormwater drain collapsed and fell into the drain in the Capital on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Four persons, including a woman, were killed and 22 injured when a cluster of houses built on a stormwater drain collapsed and fell into the drain near Khan Market here on Saturday.

All the victims were rushed to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where four of them were pronounced dead. Three of the victims have been identified as Kamla Devi (45), her son Deepak (16), Gajendra Yadav (17) and Pintoo Yadav (22).

Rescue operations were under way till late at night as more people were feared trapped under the debris.

“It was around 4 p.m. when I heard a loud explosion-like sound. I was standing close to a shop with some of my friends. Suddenly we rushed in the direction of the sound and were shocked to see the scene. A huge cluster of over half-a-dozen houses had collapsed as the sewer drain flowing under it had caved in. Over two dozen families including women and children were trapped,” said Ajay, an eyewitness.

Word about the incident spread fast and people rushed over to the spot to help those trapped in the buildings. “Even before the fire tenders and the police reached the spot, we had managed to pull out over a dozen people from the debris. Over 20 people were rescued alive while two had apparently died by the time they were pulled out. Still, half-a-dozen people are feared to be trapped under the debris,” said Vinod Sharma, who lives in the vicinity of the mishap site.

Initially five fire tenders were rushed to the spot. Later three more were pressed into service.

The cluster was a part of a huge camp of daily wagers known as “Labour Camp”, housing over 2,000 inhabitants, just behind the Christian Cemetery on Prithviraj Road. “The camp came up over two decades ago and most of its inhabitants have migrated from Agra in Uttar Pradesh,” said Avinash Vaidh, a local resident.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit visited the spot later in the day and announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh each to the families which had lost adults in the accident. She also announced that families that had lost their minor children would get Rs.50,000 each while the injured would be given a compensation of Rs.20,000 each.

New Delhi Municipal Council spokesperson Anand Tewari said that all the buildings which had caved in were “unauthorised constructions”. Because of the heavy rains in the past few days the foundations of these houses had weakened and this was the prime cause of the tragic incident, he added. NDMC officials were overseeing the rescue and relief operations.

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