2 Workers Dead As Building Housing Jeans Factory Collapses In Northeast Delhi

Two employees of a garment factory died and another was injured when the two-storey building it was housed in collapsed in the Welcome area of northeast Delhi early Thursday, police said.

A call was received around 2.15 am about the collapse of the two-storey building, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) Joy Tirkey said. Its first floor was vacant while the ground floor was being used as a jeans factory, he said.

"Three workers who were trapped under the debris were pulled out and rushed to the GTB Hospital, where two of them were declared dead," another officer said.

The dead are identified as Arshad (30) and Tauhid (20). Rehan (22) is undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Delhi Fire Service (DFS) station officer of Geeta Colony Anoop Singh said four vehicles of the fire brigade were deployed for the rescue operation.

"When we reached the spot, we saw a building had collapsed and a few people were trapped. We rescued three people and sent them to a hospital," he said.

Haji Zarif, a councillor from Kabir Nagar, said he reached the spot soon after the incident. "Fire brigade and officials of the Delhi Police also arrived and started the rescue operation," he said.

Police said the owner of the building has been identified as Shahid. Efforts are underway to trace him, they said.

"During investigations, it was found that the factory and building owner, Shahid, also owned an adjacent building which was under construction. The owner had demolished a portion and collected the rubble on the terrace of this building. As the building was already under dilapidated condition, it collapsed," the officer said.

According to a statement from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), this building was 40 years old. "The building collapsed as a demolition was going on," it said.

Tauhid's brother Abdul Rauf told PTI that Tauhid had been working in the factory for one year.

A relative of Arshad said he was a lone breadwinner in his family. Arshad is survived by his parents and three siblings. "Arshad's father is an auto driver. He used to help his father run the family by working in the factory," he said.

Police said soon after the incident, the family members of both the deceased reached the spot and some of them helped in the rescue operation.

AIMIM leader Shoaib Jamui, who also lives near the building, visited the spot in the morning.

"We don't want to do politics over the incident. But people have died and so action must be taken against those responsible for it," he added. 

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)