Harsh Vihar building cave-in:two bodies pulled out afterovernight rescue operation

The bodies of a 60-year-old man and his 33-year-old son were recovered from the debris of a building that collapsed in north-east Delhi’s Harsh Vihar on Sunday night, following an overnight rescue operation, police said on Monday.

“Preliminary inspection revealed that the ground-floor structure of an old building, which reportedly housed a godown, had collapsed along with the first-floor structure constructed above it,” said a senior police officer. 

The incident was reported at 6.46 p.m. on Sunday. Two fire brigade vehicles, two ambulances and a crane were deployed at the spot. Civil Defence volunteers and an NDRF team also assisted in the rescue operation. However, some family members alleged that the rescue work was slow and tried to remove the debris themselves.

The deceased, Chanderpal and his son, Vijay, worked at the site, the officer said.

The police has arrested the owner of the building, Manoj Kumar, under Sections are 290 (negligence during construction) and and 106(1) (death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

The bodies were taken to Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital for postmortem examination, following which they were handed over to the family members. 

“They were the only breadwinners of the family. We were hoping that they would be rescued alive,” said one of the relatives.

An investigation is under way to ascertain the circumstances leading to the collapse, police said.

Ministers Kapil Mishra and Ashish Sood also reached the spot late Sunday night to assess the rescue operation. Mr. Mishra said that the illegal construction taking place is the direct cause of these incidents. “The government stands firmly against illegal construction and strict action will be taken against anyone found guilty,” Mr. Mishra said. 

The incident comes close on the heels of a series of fatal building collapses in the city in recent months. Seven people were killed in southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan on September 6, while three people, including a child, died in a similar incident in New Seemapuri on October 7.