Hostel collapse in Delhi on September 6 leaves dozens trapped

A five-storey residential hostel in Delhi's Satya Niketan neighborhood collapsed on Sunday, September 6, with as many as 50 people feared trapped inside, according to eyewitnesses cited by BBC News. At least three people have been killed, three are in critical condition, and at least eight have been rescued so far.

The hostel, called Hostel Daze, is located a short distance from the Delhi University campus in a densely populated area housing a large student population. Many of the students staying there were thought to be in their rooms at the time of the collapse, around 13:30 local time (08:00 GMT), because there were no lessons on Sunday. A legislative assembly member said at the scene that some of the trapped students had been making calls from under the rubble.

Construction work in the basement of the building appears to be a contributing factor. According to BBC News reporting, the owner of a nearby shop told ANI news agency that the building had been under a 100-year lease and that the leaseholder had undertaken excavation work in the basement to expand the hostel and increase income. The shop owner said "They strengthened the upper building, but the pillars below were weak" and noted that construction workers had also been buried.

Due to structural concerns, Chief Minister of Delhi Rekha Gupta said an adjacent building had been evacuated "as a precautionary measure." Eyewitnesses told local media that another building beside the hostel had also collapsed, and that it too had been a hostel, per BBC News reporting. Gupta said "Every possible effort is being made to safely rescue those trapped."

Due to possible instability, rescue operations face constraints. Police are searching for the building's owner, according to Times of India as cited by BBC News. The building itself was 40 or 50 years old, according to Delhi Police cited by the BBC.

Building collapses are relatively common in Delhi. More than a thousand have been recorded in the past three years, causing dozens of deaths, according to fire department figures cited by BBC News. Poor foundations, inadequate materials and unqualified construction workers are among the common reasons for collapses in the city. Eleven people, including three children, were killed last April when a residential building collapsed in north-eastern Delhi, per BBC News reporting.