New Delhi, Aug. 10 -- A mother who had hoped to send her seven-year-old daughter to school, a couple saving for their first child, and two brothers' families who lived side by side - in minutes, the wall of a recently built shrine flattened their homes in southeast Delhi's Jaitpur on Saturday morning, killing seven people, including two children.

The collapse, triggered by overnight rain that weakened the structure, reduced to debris a cluster of six to seven jhuggis in Hari Nagar. Police said the wall of a shrine, built six to seven months ago by the landowner in memory of his parents, fell around 9.13am, crushing residents as they cooked, played, or prepared for work. At least four others were injured.

Among the dead were ragpicker Mu...