• Source:JND
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In an unfortunate incident, four people lost their lives while 12 others are still trapped after a building collapsed in the Mustafabad area of Delhi during the wee hours of Saturday, the officials said. As per the eyewitness account, the incident took place at around 2:30 am.

It is suspected that the roof collapsed after heavy rains and a dust storm lashed the national capital on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. So far, 14 people have been rescued. They were taken to the hospital. The Delhi Fire Services, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and the Delhi Police are jointly undertaking the rescue operation.

Meanwhile, CCTV footage has surfaced that captured the moment when the building collapsed. 

North East Delhi's Additional DCP Sandeep Lama said, "The Delhi Fire Service had received the call. Later, the NDRF and police were also called. So far, 18 people have been rescued. Unfortunately four people have died, while 14 are admitted to hospital. At present, two NDRF teams, fire service are involved in the rescue operation. Eight to ten people are still feared trapped."

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Meanwhile, an eyewitness revealed details of the horrific incident to PTI. He said, "It happened around 2 to 2:30 am. Suddenly, a four-storey building collapsed. People were saying that some construction work was going on in the lower floors, which might have caused it — though that’s not confirmed yet. Reports suggest that around 20–25 people were trapped. Some have already been rescued. I personally helped rescue a girl who fortunately survived."

Rajendra Atwal, Divisional Fire Officer, told ANI that they received a call regarding a house collapse around 2:50 am.

"We reached the spot and found out that the entire building has collapsed and people are trapped under the debris...NDRF, Delhi Fire Service are working to rescue the people...," he said.

In a similar incident on April 11, a person died while two others sustained injuries after a wall of an under-construction building collapsed near Madhu Vihar police station in Delhi during the dust storm which struck the national capital, as per police.

Resuce operation faces difficulty

The resue operation is facing difficulty as the area where the building collapsed is congested and so heavy machinery movement has been challenging.

NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahedi said, "According to information received from locals, around 12 people are still trapped. Our NDRF team and other agencies are engaged in rescue work. This is a congested area and we are facing difficulties in the movement of heavy machinery; we hope we will be able to save lives..."

Mohan Singh Bisht visits site

Local MLA and Deputy Speaker of the Delhi Assembly Mohan Singh Bisht visited the site and announced that appropriate compensation will be provided to the family of the deceased after four people were killed in the Mustafabad area, where a multi-storey building collapsed earlier in the day.

(With Inputs From Agencies)

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