Saket bldg collapse: Death toll rises to 6; FIR registered

New Delhi: The death toll in the collapse of a multi-storey commercial building near Saket Metro station in south Delhi rose to six on Sunday, with more than 13 students pulled out from the debris as emergency teams continued search and rescue operations over 24 hours after the incident.

“Five of the injured passed away at AIIMS, and another person died at Safdarjung Hospital,” officials said, adding that seven others are undergoing treatment at AIIMS. Police sources said that the victims were preparing for competitive examinations, including the Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) Examination.

An FIR has been registered under relevant sections, including culpable homicide, and teams have been constituted to investigate the circumstances that led to the collapse and arrest the owner of the building, an official said.

According to an order by the Deputy Commissioner of MCD’s South Zone, Assistant Engineer (Building) Sudesh Singh Chouhan and Junior Engineer (Building) Aman Jain have been placed under suspension over alleged lapses in supervision related to the building that collapsed.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday visited the building collapse site and assured strict action against unauthorised constructions and the officers responsible for it. The FIR has been lodged at Mehrauli police station, while the inquiry will be conducted under the supervision of the South District Magistrate on the chief minister’s directions.

The incident occurred on Saturday evening on Westend Marg in the Saidulajab area when the “five-seven-storey” structure suddenly came crashing down. The building housed a coaching institute, cafes and offices, while construction work was reportedly underway on its upper floor at the time of the collapse, the police said.

The area in Saket where the building collapsed is a hub of coaching for students seeking admissions in Medical and Engineering studies in foreign countries.

More than 24 hours after the collapse, rescue operations were still underway, with multiple agencies working to ascertain whether anyone remains trapped under the debris.

The deceased have been identified as Ravi (24), Kapil (28), Nalin Ray (23), Alok, Parvati (35) and Ekta (24).

Officials said the building was reduced to rubble, with a large portion of the debris falling onto an adjoining tin-shed canteen, owned by Parvati Ojha, a Nepal-born woman in her early 50s, frequented by students preparing for medical and engineering entrance examinations.

Among the injured are two medical graduates, two GATE aspirants, and an engineer.

Authorities have initiated a detailed inquiry to determine whether structural weaknesses, ongoing construction activity or any violation of building norms contributed to the tragedy. Police said further legal action would be taken based on the findings of the investigation.

Footage of the incident also surfaced on social media platforms, showing that moments before the collapse, a student began recording after noticing stones and bricks falling onto the road. Within seconds, the entire building came crashing down, sending up a massive cloud of dust that engulfed the area and triggered panic among people nearby.

According to the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) statement, an emergency call regarding the building collapse was received at the Emergency Operation Centre at 7.40 pm on Saturday. “A Quick Response Vehicle was immediately dispatched to the site and rescue operations were launched in accordance with standard operating procedures,” the statement read.

Upon reaching the spot, authorities found that the building, spread across approximately 300-400 square yards, had completely collapsed. Residents informed rescue personnel that around 10 to 15 people were feared trapped beneath the debris.

The injured were identified as Kshitij Pratap (25), Neelam Yadav (25), Anuj Dixit (22), Tarun (25), Saika Khan (27), Aastha (26), Aditya Sharma (24) and Vishal (25). All of them were shifted to the AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment.

Recalling the terrifying moments, an eyewitness of the incident said that there was a loud sound and the entire area turned into a dust ball.

“One moment, students were eating dinner, revising notes and discussing upcoming exams; the next, they were running for their lives as a deafening roar tore through the evening and a thick cloud of dust engulfed the area,” an eyewitness said.

Among those who lost their lives was 28-year-old Kapil, an aspirant for the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), who had gathered with five friends at the canteen adjacent to the building after performing well in an interview for a position at the coveted institution, his friends said. The results are expected in July.

Kapil and his friend Nalin, both former students of Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology (MIT) in Bihar and later associated with a coaching institute in Delhi, were among a group of six students, including two women, who had assembled for the meagre celebration.

Nalin Ray, 23, a resident of Nawada district in Bihar, had recently completed his BTech and was preparing for GATE. Family members said he was planning to return home during his upcoming break and had spoken normally with them earlier in the day.

Ramesh Chand received the crushing news of his daughter’s death after waiting for hours near the debris.

A resident of Rajasthan’s Alwar, Chand said he rushed to Delhi overnight after receiving a call from students who knew his 24-year-old daughter, informing him that she could not be contacted following Saturday’s collapse.

The daughter, Ekta, a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) graduate, had been living in Delhi for the past year while preparing for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination (FMGE), scheduled to be held on June 28.

Just weeks before her 25th birthday on June 25 and days ahead of the crucial examination, she had appeared for a test on Saturday morning which, according to her family, had gone well.

“Her exam had gone well, and she was very happy. She spoke to family members twice in the afternoon, and everyone at home was celebrating her performance,” Chand said.   

The day after the tragic incident, many aspirants described scenes of panic, dust, and devastation that disrupted months of intense preparation.

Located near Saket Metro station, the Said-Ul-Ajaib area is dotted with libraries, coaching institutes, hostels, and eateries that cater to hundreds of students, including Foreign Medical Graduate (FMG) aspirants and candidates preparing for examinations such as NEET, GATE and other competitive tests.