By IANS,
New Delhi : A boy was Wednesday rescued from the debris of the three-storey building that collapsed in old Delhi a day earlier even as the death toll rose to seven, police said. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has ordered a probe into the incident that also left 25 injured.
Five-year-old Amaan was rescued by the authorities and nobody else has been found in the debris of Katra Data Ram Ki Haveli in Chandni Mahal area near Jama Masjid that came crashing at around 8 p.m. Tuesday, said police officers.
Survivors and locals started gathering early Wednesday in the area that has residential buildings in the narrow bylanes even as police cordoned it off.
“The deputy commissioner of the city zone will conduct the inquiry. The preliminary report of the inquiry will be submitted to the MCD commissioner by Wednesday evening,” Deep Mathur, MCD spokesperson, told IANS.
The building collapsed due to digging work in an adjacent under construction house in the complex, fire officials said.
The comprehensive report of the inquiry has to be submitted within three days to MCD Commissioner K.S. Mehra.
Besides two unidentified people, the dead included 40-year-old Arshad and four women: Tabassum, 18, Shauqat Bi, 65, Fatima, 65, and Munni Devi, 70, who were declared brought dead at the Lok Nayak Hospital.
“There was a loud sound…we thought it was a blast. When we went out, there was darkness and smoke all around,” said local Shaizi Khan, 32.
“Minutes later, we came to know the Chandni Mahal building had collapsed,” Khan said.
Fresh construction had started in a portion of the building two weeks back, said locals.
“There has been construction going on in the cramped area. We have filed many RTI (Right to Information) applications to know how this can happen despite MCD regulations,” said Rizwan Khan, an RTI activist.
Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, who represents the Chandni Chowk constituency, visited the injured at the hospital. The Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari, also visited the hospital.