7 killed, including 2 children, in Delhi wall collapse after heavy rain

At least seven people were killed in the Hari Nagar area of Jaitpur, Delhi, on Saturday morning after a wall collapsed following heavy overnight rain that lashed the national capital, officials said. As per reports, the fire department received a call about the incident at 9.16 am, and three fire trucks were rushed to the spot along with police teams, the Delhi Fire Service said. “Seven people have died in the wall collapse incident in Harinagar, Jaitpur, including 3 men, 2 women, and 2 girls,” Delhi Police said.

According to police, the incident occurred near an old temple adjacent to which were jhuggies where several scrap dealers lived. The sudden collapse of the wall, weakened by heavy rain, trapped eight residents. All were rescued and rushed to the hospital in critical condition.

Additional DCP (South East) Aishwarya Sharma said, “There is an old temple here, and next to it are old jhuggies where scrap dealers live. The wall collapsed due to heavy rain overnight. We have now evacuated these jhuggies so that no such incident occurs in future.”

The victims were identified as Shabibul (30), Rabibul (30), Muttu Ali (45), Rubina (25), Dolly (25), Rukhsana (6) and Haseena (7).

Authorities have relocated residents from the vulnerable structures nearby.

The wall collapse came as Delhi experienced intense rainfall since late Friday night, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a red alert for Saturday in most parts of the capital, warning of heavy rain accompanied by lightning and thunderstorms.

Waterlogging severely disrupted traffic near Panchkuian Marg, Mathura Road, Shastri Bhawan, RK Puram, Moti Bagh, and Kidwai Nagar. The downpour, which began around 11 pm on Friday, continued into Saturday morning, affecting both vehicular movement and daily activities across the city.

Authorities have urged residents in low-lying and structurally unsafe areas to remain vigilant as more heavy rain is forecast.

In the 24 hours till 8.30 am on Saturday, Delhi’s primary weather station at Safdarjung recorded 78.7 mm of rainfall, Pragati Maidan 100 mm, Lodhi Road 80 mm, Pusa 69 mm, and Palam 31.8 mm, according to data shared by the weather department.

The temperature was recorded at 23.8 degrees Celsius on Saturday morning, 3.2 notches below the average.

“Local police responded to the collapse by 9.20-9.22 am and made arrangements for earthmover machines to remove the debris and rescue people. Eight people were pulled out from the debris and rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre and the Safdarjung Trauma Centre. Of the eight, four were men, two women, and two children,” said DCP (Southeast) Hemant Tiwari.