Neighbours recall deafening sound, screams for help | Latest News Delhi

Neighbours report that the first collapse on Sheesh Mahal street in Chawri Bazar occurred around 9.30am. What they heard was the sound of the third floor of the under-construction structure giving way. Within the next 20 minutes, the remaining two floors had also come down. It felt like a “bomb explosion”, said one resident.

Eyewitnesses said the third-floor lintel gave way first, followed by the collapse of the remaining floors within around 20 minutes, (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)Eyewitness Salman Hashmi, 28, said the lintel of the third floor of the building collapsed initially, prompting them to immediately evacuate the area. When the next collapse happened, several workers were trapped beneath the debris.

“Some workers managed to escape when the roof of the third floor collapsed, sustaining injuries to their heads and hands in the process. We don’t know why those who were still inside remained there,” Hashmi added.

“We were all sleeping when we heard a loud noise. When I stepped out, I saw that the third floor of the building had collapsed and a couple of people were standing outside, bleeding. The contractor then took them to the hospital,” said Akif Shah. The 24-year-old and his family live in the adjacent building.

“I called the police then, at 9:48am, and they arrived in around 10-15 minutes,” he said.

The rescue team arrived around 10.30am, said another neighbour, asking not to be named. “The rescue team arrived around 10.30am, and I saw a police officer on the terrace of one of the houses here around 11am. Since then, entry into the area has been barred.”

The 42-year-old said she heard a deafening sound before the collapse. A window in my room opens towards the collapsed building.

“There was dust everywhere, and for nearly half an hour I could hear labourers screaming for help, and then it was complete silence,” she added.

A resident living directly opposite the building said she heard workers screaming for help for nearly 30 minutes before silence fell. She further said that construction work on four new buildings, including the three-storey structure that collapsed, had begun alongside one another earlier this year, within a gap of a few months.

The plot where the building collapsed, residents said, is divided between two brothers Ayub and Barkat Khan and construction work had been going on for the last 10 months.

“Ayub made four of his floors earlier, while Barkat was still constructing adjacent to him. The building that collapsed belongs to Barkat and his sons,” said a neighbour.

Residents living in nearby houses told HT that the construction, which officials have said was illegal, was being carried out at a rapid pace and in a way that did not take into account its structural integrity.

“Just four days back I could see that the cement hadn’t even dried properly, but they had begun the lintel work for another floor. I had told my wife that this building would fall any day,” said 48-year-old Saqib Khan who also lives next-door.

“The work would begin early in the morning and stretch till 8-9pm at night. Today, too, the work started around 6am, with the continuous noise of a cement-mixing machine. Around 5-6 labourers were involved, while another 10-12 were working on other floors,” Khan added.

At first, a resident said people were hesitant to approach the site to rescue those who were trapped with the building collapsing in two separate sections within a span of 30 minutes. There were fears that the three other newly constructed structures surrounding the collapsed building too could give way.

Hemani Bhandari is a Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in New Delhi, where she reports on crime, policing, governance and social issues. With over a decade of experience in journalism, she specialises in combining on-ground reporting with evidence-based storytelling to examine the human impact of public policy, law enforcement and urban governance. Over the years, she has reported extensively on major developments in the capital, including crime investigations, civic challenges, protests, and issues affecting vulnerable communities. As a Special Correspondent, she focuses on producing exclusive investigations, enterprise stories and long-form features that go beyond daily news cycles. She has a keen interest in using public records, official data and field reporting to uncover systemic issues and present complex subjects in an accessible manner. A graduate of the Asian College of Journalism, Hemani believes in rigorous, ethical and evidence-based reporting. She is passionate about investigative journalism and continuously seeks to expand her skills in data journalism, open-source investigations and digital reporting techniques.Read More

Gargi Shukla is a correspondent with Hindustan Times. She reports on schools, colleges and issues that affect students, teachers, parents, and educational institutions in India's capital. She closely tracks the political economy of education, student politics, and policy developments shaping the sector in Delhi. She earlier worked as a sub editor with Outlook Business.Read More