A tragic incident unfolded in the early hours of Friday when a three-storey building collapsed in Delhi’s densely populated Bada Hindu Rao area, claiming the life of a 46-year-old man. The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) received a distress call around 1:56 am, after which emergency teams rushed to the scene. Following a swift search and rescue operation, the body of the deceased — identified as Manoj Sharma — was recovered from the debris. Eyewitnesses report a loud crash followed by panic among residents and shopkeepers who were startled awake by the chaos.
According to officials, the building was a commercial-cum-residential structure housing several shops and possibly a few residents. While the exact cause of the collapse is still under investigation, initial suspicions point toward structural weakness or possible illegal modifications that may have compromised the building’s integrity. Local authorities and the municipal corporation have cordoned off the area to prevent further accidents, while a technical team has been deployed to assess the structural condition of adjacent buildings, fearing further collapses in the neighborhood.
This collapse has once again raised urgent concerns about building safety in older parts of Delhi, where many aging structures lack modern reinforcements and often bypass regulatory checks. Residents have urged the Delhi government to conduct immediate audits and enforce stricter norms for structural safety. As investigations continue, civic bodies are expected to issue notices and possibly initiate legal action if any negligence is found. For now, the city mourns another life lost in what seems to be a preventable urban tragedy.