New Delhi Building Collapse Toll Hits Six as Search Continues

(MENAFN) The death toll from a building collapse in the Indian capital of New Delhi climbed to six on Monday, as rescue crews entered a second day of searching for people still trapped beneath the debris, according to a hospital statement.

The building, which housed a boys' paying guest hostel in New Delhi's Satya Niketan area, came down around noon Sunday, setting off a large-scale rescue effort involving multiple teams.

On Monday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences hospital in New Delhi confirmed six deaths in a statement.

Narendra Bundela, a senior officer with the National Disaster Response Force, which is taking part in the rescue operation, told reporters that "six were declared dead, and five were admitted to hospitals," while "one body is yet to be extricated."

Delhi Police said the structure was a "40- to 50-year-old building," and noted that repair work was underway in the basement at the time of the collapse.

Late Sunday night, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta ordered an investigation into the incident along with action against the building's owner.

"Those found responsible for this grave incident will be held fully accountable and dealt with under the strictest provisions of law," she wrote on the US social media platform X.

Eyewitnesses said in the aftermath that more than a dozen people were feared trapped beneath the rubble.

Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said Monday that 85% of the debris had been cleared. "It is still not clear whether anyone else is missing. We are getting information that one of the workers may be there (trapped)," he told reporters.

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