At least six people have died after a multistorey building collapsed in New Delhi, leaving rescue workers searching through a large pile of debris for students and other occupants feared trapped beneath the rubble.
The collapse occurred on Sunday in Satya Niketan, an area near a Delhi University campus, where the building was understood to have housed mostly students. Emergency crews moved quickly into the affected area as authorities attempted to determine how many people remained inside and whether additional survivors could be reached.
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said it received 10 patients following the incident. Five of those brought to the hospital were already dead, while another patient who initially arrived in critical condition later died from injuries sustained in the collapse. The hospital therefore put the confirmed death toll from those treated at six.
The rescue operation involved teams from India’s disaster response agency, police officers and firefighters. Crews worked through the debris using earthmoving equipment while trained detection dogs were deployed to identify possible survivors beneath the collapsed structure. The operation continued as emergency personnel faced the difficult task of removing rubble without putting people who might still be alive at further risk.
Fire officer Abhilash Malik said as many as 40 people could still be trapped under the remains of the building. However, authorities had not immediately established the exact number of people inside when the structure came down, meaning the number of survivors and the final casualty figure remained uncertain during the early stages of the operation.
The danger was not limited to the collapsed building. Authorities evacuated a nearby structure after concerns that it could also become unstable and collapse. The precaution added another layer of difficulty to an already complicated rescue effort, with emergency personnel required to work around potentially unsafe structures while attempting to reach those beneath the debris.
Videos circulating online showed the scale of the incident and the desperate efforts to find people trapped inside. One video was reportedly recorded by a man who remained beneath the rubble while people outside could be heard calling for rescuers to assist him. Other footage showed local residents trying to reach survivors before specialised disaster-response teams arrived at the scene.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the immediate priority was to save those who remained trapped, particularly the students believed to have been inside the building. She said rescue operations would continue and promised that authorities would take action against anyone found responsible for the collapse.
“The most important thing for us is to save the lives of these students,” Gupta told local news outlets, stressing that emergency teams would continue their work at the site. She also said, “I assure you we won’t spare the guilty,” indicating that authorities intended to establish responsibility once the immediate rescue operation had been completed.
The office of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also responded to the disaster, expressing condolences to families who lost relatives and wishing those injured a rapid recovery. In a statement posted on X, Modi’s office said authorities were working at the site and assisting people affected by the incident.
The collapse has once again drawn attention to the dangers associated with building failures in parts of India, particularly during the country’s rainy season. The period from June through September can bring heavy rainfall, which can weaken structures, undermine foundations and increase the risk of building-related accidents in vulnerable areas.
Another building collapse occurred in northern India on Saturday, according to the supplied report, when a three-storey structure came down following heavy rain. That incident did not result in reported casualties, but it highlighted the risks posed by deteriorating or vulnerable buildings during periods of intense rainfall.
New Delhi has also experienced deadly building collapses in recent years. In 2025, at least 11 people were killed when a residential building collapsed in the northeastern part of the capital, underscoring the recurring danger posed by unsafe structures in densely populated areas.
At Satya Niketan, however, emergency teams remained focused on the immediate search for survivors. Heavy machinery was being used to clear sections of the rubble, while police, firefighters and disaster-response personnel coordinated efforts to determine where people might be trapped.
The use of detection dogs was particularly important as rescuers attempted to locate victims who could not be seen from the surface. The presence of potentially unstable debris and the evacuation of a neighbouring building meant crews had to balance speed with safety while working through the collapsed structure.
The videos recorded during and after the collapse also demonstrated the role played by residents before professional rescuers fully arrived. People living or working near the site were seen attempting to help those caught inside, while others gathered around the wreckage and called for assistance.
For families and friends of those believed to be inside, uncertainty remained one of the most difficult aspects of the disaster. Authorities had not yet released a definitive list of people trapped or confirmed the total number of occupants at the time the rescue effort was continuing.
The death of the sixth victim at AIIMS increased the confirmed toll from the patients treated at the hospital, but officials continued to search for additional people who might have survived the initial collapse. The possibility that dozens remained beneath the rubble made the rescue operation particularly urgent.
Gupta’s promise that those responsible would face consequences also points to a forthcoming investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collapse. The cause had not been established at the time of the report, and authorities were expected to determine whether structural weaknesses, construction issues, rainfall or another factor contributed to the disaster.
For now, emergency workers are concentrating on the rubble rather than assigning blame. Their priority is to locate anyone who may still be alive, bring survivors to safety and provide medical treatment to those injured.
As the search continues in Satya Niketan, the collapse has left families waiting for news while authorities work to establish the full scale of the tragedy. The eventual investigation will be expected to determine why the building failed and whether warning signs or safety violations contributed to the loss of life.
Delhi Building Collapse Kills Six as Rescue Teams Search Rubble for Trapped Students
