Many more would have died had the portion of the roof of a centuries-old Delhi dargah collapsed just a few hours earlier during the Jumma namaz, say locals.
On Friday, six people were killed and five were injured after a wall and the roof of two adjacent rooms of a dargah near Humayun's Tomb in Nizamuddin collapsed.
The incident happened around 3.30 pm, and locals believe the toll would have been higher had it happened around the afternoon namaz, when a larger crowd gathers in the area.
The famed Dargah Shareef Patte Wali is visited by people not just from the city.
"Had this happened during the prayer time, it would have been a much bigger tragedy," Rakesh, a vendor who sells bhelpuri outside the iconic Humayun's Tomb, told PTI.
The dargah is located in the back lane of Humayun's Tomb on the way leading to Sunder Nursery, next to New Horizon School. It now stands forlorn behind a padlock.
A guard at Sunder Nursery who had been on duty said, "We did not know what happened until we saw ambulances and police cars rushing in. We were told by people coming out that a roof, where some people had taken shelter in the rain, had collapsed," Himanshu Tiwari said.
The dargah shares its boundary walls with the 16th-century garden tomb commissioned by Mughal emperor Humayun's first wife, Bega Begum, in 1558.
One of the men guarding the tomb said the dargah may have been of an earlier vintage than the mausoleum.
"What I know is that this dargah is centuries old, even older than the tomb, and people come here to offer prayers on regular days as well. On Fridays, the number of devotees is much higher," he said.
For regular visitors, the grief was deeply personal.
A local, who passes by the shrine every week, told PTI, "I have been coming here from Ghaziabad for years. My belief is strong, and my family comes here every other week. Yesterday, I was caught up with some urgent work, so I couldn't make it. When I came today and learnt that the dargah was closed because of the accident, I felt shaken." Authorities have sealed off the collapsed portion as investigations continue.
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