Saturday, 09 August 2025
Saturday, 09 August 2025
Heavy overnight rain in the national capital turned fatal on Saturday morning when a wall near Mohan Baba Mandir in Jaitpur collapsed, killing seven people and injuring one. Many of the victims were migrant workers from West Bengal.
While the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) initially reported eight deaths, police later confirmed seven fatalities and one injured person undergoing treatment.
According to DFS officials, a call regarding the wall collapse was received at 9:16 am. Three fire tenders, along with police teams, were dispatched to the site. The India Meteorological Department had issued a red alert for Saturday, later downgraded to yellow.
Police said the PCR received the first call at 9:13 am, with the caller stating in Hindi, "Badi deewar gir gayi hai," and that four to five persons were trapped under the debris.
A senior police officer said the Station House Officer of Jaitpur, along with staff carrying ropes and other rescue tools, reached the spot immediately. "Rescue operations were initiated without delay. Additional DCP (South-East) Aishwarya Sharma and ACP Ravishankar also arrived to oversee the operations," the officer said.
The wall was broken through to rescue those trapped. Eight people were pulled out and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital.
"Of the eight, seven — including three men, two women, and two minor girls — succumbed to their injuries during treatment. The injured person, identified as Hasibul (27), son of Khushana, a resident of Gangadhari, Jortalapara in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, is undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital's trauma centre," the officer said.
A joint search by the Delhi Fire Service and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) confirmed there were no more victims under the debris. The cause of the collapse has yet to be established.
Officials pointed to possible waterlogging and soil weakening from the heavy rainfall.
A senior DFS official said, "The intensity of the rain since Friday night has been very high, which may have led to weakening of structures in low-lying and vulnerable areas. In this case, we are still examining whether poor maintenance, construction defects, or natural causes triggered the collapse."
The downpour, which began around 11 pm on Friday, caused waterlogging in several parts of Delhi-NCR, traffic jams, and reports of minor wall collapses and tree falls.
Police said a case is being registered, and the investigation will cover the structural condition of the wall, ownership, and any possible negligence.
"We will look into the structural condition of the wall, ownership, and any negligence involved. Statements of witnesses and survivors will be recorded," the officer said.
Ranjan, who lost five family members, recalled, "Some people were making roti, some were eating rice, and others were about to go to work when we heard the sound of the wall collapsing."
Talking to PTI, Ranjan said, "There are seven or eight people in the hospital. Five are from my family — my mother, father, brother, and two children. My niece is seven, and my nephew is eight."
"The rest are from nearby villages. Some worked as carpenters, others in private companies," she said.
Locals said the wall fell around 9 am, trapping people in their jhuggis. "It fell on eight people, among them were two children, a woman, and several men. All were rushed to the hospital in serious condition," said a resident.
Moina, a young girl, said that her father, a garbage collector, was among those pulled from the debris. "I was sleeping when it happened. I didn't see anything," she said softly.
The only survivor, Hasibul, remains under treatment.
