3 feared dead in Delhi wall collapse; rescue ops underway

New Delhi, Oct 9 (IANS) Three contractual workers have died while four to five others are feared trapped under the rubble after a wall collapsed late on Thursday in the national capital's Safdarjung Enclave, with rescue operations underway, officials said.

A police control room call was received regarding a wall collapse incident, a police official said.

The caller told that "a wall has collapsed, trapping four to five persons under the debris, of which two to three persons have reportedly died".

The three injured victims are aged between 35 and 70 years and residents of Ghazipur (Uttar Pradesh), Dausa (Rajasthan) and Sangam Vihar (Delhi).

The deceased victim is a resident of Delhi's Madangir and was aged 60 years, the official added.

Upon reaching the accident spot, it was found that construction work of a basement was in progress.

During excavation, a concrete pillar at one corner along with the basement soil slipped from beneath, causing a portion of the wall structure to collapse, the official said.

Consequently, the labourers working at the site were buried under the debris and soil.

The police staff, Fire Department and the Disaster rescue team reached the spot promptly and initiated the rescue operations.

During the course of the operation, four injured workers were rescued and shifted to the Sukhmani hospital for treatment.

Two critically injured workers were shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where one of them was declared brought dead on arrival, and the other remains admitted in the Red Zone under treatment, the official added.

The rescue operations have been completed and the accident spot has been secured.

Further legal action is being taken as per law.

According to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS), a call regarding the incident was received at 6.09 pm, following which multiple fire tenders were rushed to the spot for rescue operations.

"Five persons were reported to be trapped when the wall of an under-construction basement caved in. Before our vehicles reached, one person was rescued by locals. The remaining four were rescued by our teams with the assistance of the Delhi Police," the DFS officer.

Officials said that construction work was underway in the basement when a portion of the wall suddenly collapsed, trapping the workers inside.

--IANS

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