Six Dead After Satya Niketan PG Collapses; Search Continues Under Rubble
Six people were killed and 13 were rescued after a multi-storey paying guest building collapsed on Sunday in southwest Delhi's Satya Niketan, where emergency teams continue working to reach students feared trapped beneath the rubble.
The collapse occurred while basement repair work was underway inside the building, which was more than 40 years old. The structure crumbled within seconds in a cloud of dust, leaving concrete slabs piled across the site. Many of the building's residents were students attending nearby colleges across Delhi University's South Campus.
Rescue operations at Ground Zero continued through the night and stretched past daybreak as workers searched for survivors. However, clearing the heavy debris has proven difficult because of acute safety concerns regarding the five-storey building located immediately adjacent to the collapsed property.
Authorities evacuated the neighbouring building as a precautionary measure to prevent further casualties. An initial structural assessment revealed that the adjacent five-storey property was built without pillars, relying instead on an older construction method where bricks were joined directly together. Fearing that removing debris could trigger the collapse of that neighbouring structure, officials began installing an external support system to stabilise it before resuming large-scale rubble removal.
Satya Niketan has dozens of regular houses that have been converted into multi-storey paying guest accommodations offering hotel-like rooms, driven by high demand from students seeking lodging within walking distance of South Campus colleges. The collapse has triggered panic among residents in neighbouring narrow buildings, who expressed deep fear over the structural integrity and safety of their own properties.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a magisterial investigation into the incident. The police stated that a criminal case has been registered against the building owner, identified as Hariram, and several others, all of whom are currently on the run.
