A father and son lost their lives when an illegally constructed building collapsed in Harsh Vihar, North East Delhi, bringing the death toll from recent building collapses in the city to 18. The victims were identified as Chanderpal (60) and his son Vijay Kumar (33).

They were trapped beneath heavy debris during an overnight rescue operation conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Delhi Fire Services. Both were declared dead upon arrival at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital.

Recent Building Collapses

This incident highlights an ongoing crisis of structural failures across Delhi, as detailed below:

Saidulajab Building Collapse: Six people on May 30 died in a four-storey building in Delhi’s Saidulajab. Two additional floors were under construction and collapsed in the congested neighbourhood down the road from the Saket Metro station. Narrow lanes zig-zag each other, with rows of newly-built buildings packed wall-to-wall in the south Delhi neighbourhood home largely to students, candidates preparing for standardised examinations and early-career professionals.

ALSO READ: Delhi Building Collapse: Two Bodies Pulled Out Of Rubble In Harsh Vihar As Death Toll Rises; Rescue Op Continues

Satya Niketan Building Collapse: On September 6, a five-storey paying guest accommodation collapsed, resulting in the death of seven people in the Delhi Satya Niketan area. Unauthorised construction and renovation work in the 50-year-old building's basement, including water accumulation, dumping of construction debris, and the removal of a load-bearing wall on the ground floor to build a shop led to the collapse.

Seemapuri Building Collapse: At least three people, including two children, were killed after a four-storey building collapsed in North East Delhi’s New Seemapuri on October 7. The deceased include 21-year-old Gulafsa (who was four months pregnant), a 12-year-old girl, a 1.5-year-old toddler, and two women identified as Nusrat (alias Guria) and Hajra Bibi.

Following the high-profile Satya Niketan tragedy in September, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) launched a massive civic crackdown, demolishing over 1,000 unauthorised structures and ordering a strict seal on all illegal buildings exceeding four floors.

ALSO READ: Delhi Building Collapse: 1 Dead, Several Feared Trapped In Harsh Vihar; Rescue Underway

Despite these highly publicised demolition drives, the latest incident in Harsh Vihar highlights a major blind spot, structural negligence is not unique to multi-storey student complexes. Landlords continue to compromise safety by adding informal, unapproved weight additions to ageing single-storey homes in resettlement and unauthorised colonies.