Several are feared trapped in Delhi's Rohini area on Wednesday after a three-storey building collapsed after heavy rainfall across the National Capital Region (NCR).
The under-construction building, located in Rohini's Sector 16, collapsed just after 4 PM near an MCD school.
The fire department has dispatched four rescue teams to assist with the operation, as the police, NDRF, and other rescue teams have pulled out at least two people from the debris so far.
When the building collapsed, panicked residents had rushed to the site after hearing a loud crash and cries for help from beneath the rubble.
In fact, one viral video from the scene of the building collapse shows a trapped person flailing his hand in a desparate bid to attract the rescue personnel to him.
"Yes, we can see your hand. Do not worry, sir. We will save you," the rescue personnel can be heard telling the faint man, whose hand could be seen amid a crack in the rubble.
Before specialised rescue teams arrived, it was the locals who got to work, removing broken bricks, concrete slabs, and twisted iron rods with their bare hands in a desperate bid to reach the trapped people who had been crying out for help.
While some residents also formed human chains to dislodge the debris, others brought shovels and other tools from nearby houses and construction sites to help them.
Delhi weather to blame?
Though the building collapse has taken place after heavy rains in Delhi, officials are yet to determine whether the rain had a direct impact on the collapse of the under-construction building.
Despite the formation of a low-pressure area over northwest Madhya Pradesh and southwest Uttar Pradesh, only very light to light rainfall has been predicted for Delhi, with moderate rain in certain isolated spots, for Thursday.
A yellow alert has also been issued for Thursday, as thunderstorms have been forecast in some parts of the NCR.
