New Delhi, Feb 12 (IANS) Four persons, including a nine-year-old girl, were killed while two persons suffered injuries after a four-storey building collapsed on Friday in New Delhi's Bawana area, police officials said.
The deceased were identified as Rukaiya Khatoon, Shahzaad, Afreen and Danish, all residents of J.J. Colony while two women -- identified as Fatima and Shahnaaz, were rescued and sent to the hospital. "Both of them are out of danger," a police official said.
Delhi Fire Services Chief, Atul Garg told IANS that they received information about the incident at 2.48 p.m. following which four fire tenders were rushed to the spot.
The police were also informed by the locals at the same time and the outer north district police immediately reached the specified location.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer north), Brijender Kumar Yadav said the collapsed building is the part of Rajiv Ratan Aawas Yojana in which there are nearly 300 to 400 flats.
"Immediately three JCBs, one Hydra and two ambulances reached there and the rescue operation was started," Yadav told IANS.
He informed that four dead bodies were recovered from the debris which included two females. "They have been sent to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial hospital for post-mortem," the DCP added.
The rescue operation ended after three JCBs worked for more than four hours to clear the debris and rescue the people trapped.
Notably, Friday's accident was the second major building collapse incident reported in the past five months in the national capital. Nearly five months ago, on September 13, 2021, a three-storey old building collapsed in the Sabzi Mandi area of North Delhi that claimed the lives of two children.
In Friday's incident as well, the building was old and in a dilapidated condition. The police were yet to register an FIR in the incident.
According to Swaminathan, B.1.617 variant of Covid-19, which was first detected in India last Fall, was a contributing factor in the COVID explosion that India is witnessing right now.
He said that the "endgame" in fighting the pandemic is vaccinating everyone. At the same time, he said that all of India should "shut down", as some states have done.
There is desparate struggle for oxygen and there is a major shortage of hospital beds. Crematoriums and morgues are packed and can't keep up with the constant flow of corpses coming in.
Social media is flooded with desparate pleas from people for oxygen for their loved ones while others have no option but to circle hospitals in the capital Delhi while begging for a bed.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management committee & National Spokesman of the Akali Dal shared a celebratory tweet on Sidhu's release along with pictures and video on Instagram.
