Mother And Teen Son Killed In Wall Collapse, 4 Days After Arriving In Delhi

Just four days after arriving in Delhi in search of employment, a woman and her teenage son died when a decades-old boundary wall collapsed on their makeshift tent in north Delhi's Sehgal Colony on Tuesday morning.

Two other family members were injured in the incident.

Meera (40) and her son Ganpath (17) died, while her elder son, Dashrath (19) and brother-in-law Nanhe (35), sustained injuries and are undergoing treatment.

According to police and fire officials, the family had set up a tin shelter on the premises of a residential construction site near Raj Nivas, where they had started working as daily wage labourers for Rs 500 a day.

"We came just four days ago to earn a better livelihood. Now we are returning with two bodies," Nanhe said, speaking from his hospital bed.

He said that his brother is still in the village and is unaware of the incident.

Nanhe said that they had pitched the tent a couple of feet away from the boundary wall. "It suddenly collapsed. I was outside with Dashrath but Meera and Ganpath were inside and couldn't escape. I was in shock... I remember people pulling us out and shouting," he recalled.

The incident occurred around 9.40 am. Officials received a call regarding the wall collapse at 9.53 am.

A Delhi Fire Services official confirmed the identities of the woman and her son and said that both were declared dead at Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital.

Locals claimed that the boundary wall, built in the 1960s and stretching over 250 metres, collapsed following continuous rainfall. They alleged that trees on the elevated land behind the wall had recently been cut down to make way for ongoing construction, which destabilised the soil.

"With the downpour, the loose earth slid and pushed against the wall, causing it to collapse," a resident said.

The resident, who lives right across the site, said he rushed upon hearing a loud crash. "My 78-year-old sister-in-law was doing her morning prayers when the debris crashed into our compound. I managed to pull her out in time," he added.

Locals also alleged that construction activities continued through the night and multiple complaints had been raised over tree-cutting and safety concerns, but no action was taken.

"There were more than 40 trees. We told them not to cut all of them, but they did not listen. Now with the soil loosened and the rain, it led to a kind of incident," another resident said.

Emergency services arrived after 10 am but by the time locals had already started rescue efforts. Dashrath and Nanhe are recovering from their injuries, according to locals.

Residents of a nearby lane also reported knee-deep waterlogging after the incident, with muddy water and debris entering their homes.

"The drain water from Sehgal Colony always flows towards our low-lying houses. Today, it came with debris and even a fallen electrical wire," a local said.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre, Delhi received 63.5 mm of rainfall between 8.30 am and 11.30 am at Safdarjung, its main weather station. A 'red alert' issued earlier in the morning which was later downgraded to an 'orange alert' after 11 am.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)