Seven killed in Delhi wall collapse
New Delhi, Aug. 10 -- A seven-year-old girl whose mother planned to enrol her in school, a couple saving up for their first child, and two brothers' families living in adjacent shanties were among seven people killed when a shrine wall collapsed in southeast Delhi's Jaitpur area on Saturday morning.
The wall of the shrine, constructed six to seven months ago, fell around 9.13am after overnight rain weakened the structure, crushing residents in a cluster of six to seven makeshift homes in Hari Nagar as they cooked breakfast, played, or prepared for work.
Police said the landowner had built the shrine in memory of his parents. The victims included ragpicker Muttus Ali, whose 11-year-old daughter Moina survived, and four members of one family, including two girls aged seven.
Moina said she was playing outside when the collapse took place.
"My father was sleeping inside. Before I could rush in, bricks and heavy material fell on me. I screamed and was rescued by neighbours. I tried to find my father but he was buried deep in the debris. It took over half an hour to pull him out," she said.
Parveena Alam, 26, lost both her husband Md Raviul, 27, and seven-year-old daughter Ruksana. Alam, a ragpicker who had moved from Kolkata two years ago, said she had planned to send her daughter to school. "She was playing right in front of me when the wall fell. My husband was getting ready. There was so much debris, mud and darkness that I couldn't see anyone - only screams."
Alam's brother-in-law and Raviul's younger brother Hasibul, 25, was severely injured and is receiving treatment. His wife Rubina, 25, and their daughter Haseena, 7, died in the collapse.
Rubina's brother, Zaheer Ali, said the family had been living in Delhi for five to six years and raised concerns about the shrine's construction but never formally complained.
Holding his parents Meera and Khamisul near the debris, he said: "I can't believe my eldest brother is dead while the second is struggling for his life. My two nieces are also dead and my sister-in-law is also gone. If we had more money, we would have shifted somewhere else. Our contractor only pays us Rs.200 for a day to one family and asks us to stay here. We had issues but we didn't raise any complaints. I mean we can't.we have to work and stay here."
Also killed were Safiqul, 27, and his wife Doli, 27, who had been trying for a baby. Safiqul's brother, Shahjahan Ali, said: "I was leaving for work when I got a call from my brother's phone, but it got cut. Later, the police called to say both had died. They had been living there for seven years."
DCP (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said eight people were pulled from the rubble, seven of whom died. "An FIR is being registered under appropriate provisions of law and investigation will be taken up. We will call the landowner for questioning," he said, adding the man is yet to be traced.
Delhi Fire Services officials said the wall was seven to ten feet wide and had to be broken apart with axes and hammers to reach those trapped.
A fire official said: "We took hammers, axes, ropes, tempos and other material to rescue the families. The weight of debris was so much that we had to break it into smaller pieces and then rescue families from the gaps. The families were further trapped in mud and between tarp and furniture. It took almost an hour to rescue everyone."...
To read the full article or to get the complete feed from this publication, please
Contact Us.