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Delhi Building Collapse Kills At Least Seven, Rescue Efforts Ongoing

8:18 AM ETConfirmed

World Desk

In Short: Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the collapse was likely due to water accumulation and ongoing repair work in the basement of Hostel Daze, a building that housed students from nearby colleges.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the collapse was likely due to water accumulation and ongoing repair work in the basement of Hostel Daze, a building that housed students from nearby colleges.

Gupta stated that approximately 80% of the debris had been cleared by Monday morning, with only the basement rubble remaining.

Eyewitnesses described the collapse as sounding like an earthquake, with cries for help heard from under the debris.

Delhi Police said the building, which was only 40 to 50 years old, had been evacuated as a precautionary measure, and an adjacent building was also evacuated and slated for demolition.

The building owner has been arrested, and five senior civic officials of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) have been suspended following the tragedy.

College student Ankit Tiwari described the living conditions at these hostels and PGs as 'appalling,' with students paying a lot for small spaces and inadequate facilities.

Sawai Sharma, a student of Venkateswara College, said that only two students out of 75 in the Sociology Honours class get a seat in the college hostel, forcing others to live in such precarious conditions.

Rescue operations are ongoing, with some people rescued and sent to hospitals, but it is not clear how many people were inside the building or if there are still people under the debris.

In a separate incident, a four-storey building in northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri area also collapsed on Wednesday, leaving several people feared trapped under the debris.

What this adds

Background

What's confirmed

• Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the collapse was likely due to water accumulation and ongoing repair work in the basement of Hostel Daze, a building that housed students from nearby colleges.
• Gupta stated that approximately 80% of the debris had been cleared by Monday morning, with only the basement rubble remaining.
• Eyewitnesses described the collapse as sounding like an earthquake, with cries for help heard from under the debris.
• Delhi Police said the building, which was only 40 to 50 years old, had been evacuated as a precautionary measure, and an adjacent building was also evacuated and slated for demolition.
• The building owner has been arrested, and five senior civic officials of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) have been suspended following the tragedy.
• College student Ankit Tiwari described the living conditions at these hostels and PGs as 'appalling,' with students paying a lot for small spaces and inadequate facilities.
• Sawai Sharma, a student of Venkateswara College, said that only two students out of 75 in the Sociology Honours class get a seat in the college hostel, forcing others to live in such precarious conditions.
• Rescue operations are ongoing, with some people rescued and sent to hospitals, but it is not clear how many people were inside the building or if there are still people under the debris.
• In a separate incident, a four-storey building in northeast Delhi’s Seemapuri area also collapsed on Wednesday, leaving several people feared trapped under the debris.

What's still developing

• Rescuers are digging through the rubble a day after a residential building collapsed in the Indian capital, Delhi, killing at least seven people.
• An eyewitness who was at his shop nearby when the tragedy struck told news agency ANI that the building collapse sounded "like the rumble of an earthquake".
• He said he could hear students crying out from under the rubble saying "save us, save us!"
• "Given the incessant rain, we are examining the possibility of seepage weakening the structure. Repair or other work could also have contributed to the collapse. At this stage, however, it is difficult to establish the exact cause," he said.
• "Negligence with the safety of students and common people will not be tolerated at any cost," it said.
• Yadav said that most of the buildings in Satya Niketan are "overloaded".
• The building in the Satya Niketan neighbourhood of south-west Delhi, which sits a short distance from Delhi University's south campus which has five colleges, came down around 13:30 local time (08:00 GMT) on Sunday.
• "He was on the third floor at the time of the accident. He has been rescued and sent to hospital."
• "The buildings are in a dilapidated condition. No inspections are conducted. There are no rules or guidelines here."
• A DFS officer said that they received a call regarding the collapse at 3.30 p.m. and rushed fire tenders to the spot and some people might be trapped in the debris.
• The Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory asking commuters to avoid the Seemapuri area as traffic movement was affected around Seemapuri Gol Chakkar, DLF Bhopura and adjoining roads.
• Updated - October 07, 2026 05:35 pm IST - NEW DELHI The front portion of a multi-storeyed building in North East Delhi’s New Seemapuri collapsed around 3 p.m.

Sources

• BBClink
• The Economic Timeslink
• The Hindulink
• The Indian Expresslink
• Nationalheraldindialink
• Latestlylink
• Outlookindialink
• News9Livelink
• Newindianexpresslink
• Business-Standardlink
• The Indian Expresslink
• Therealtytodaylink
• Hindustan Timeslink
• Republicworldlink
• Times of Indialink
• WarpBeat — background on Under-construction building collapses near Ambala City, 10 injured; some feared trapped link
• Republic World — video link