7 Dead in Delhi Wall Collapse Amid Heavy Rain
Torrential showers cause waterlogging and traffic chaos in Delhi; IMD warns of continued rainfall till August 12.
By : Bhaskar Hari Sharma
Update: 2025-08-09 04:51 GMT
New Delhi: Seven people, including three men, two women, and two minor girls, were killed and one person was injured after a wall of a Samadhi Sthal collapsed near Mohan Baba temple in southeast Delhi’s Jaitpur area amid incessant rainfall in the national capital on Saturday.
The national capital recorded its coldest August day in at least 14 years after relentless rain lashed the city. The rain on Raksha Bandhan, beginning Friday overnight, brought most of the city to a standstill and turned several residential colonies into virtual swimming pools as more than 300 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport due to adverse weather conditions.
Inundated stretches, uprooted trees, and bad roads cripled most of Delhi.
The deceased were identified as Safiqul (27) and his wife Doli (28), both natives of Assam; Ravi Bul (27) and his daughter Ruksana (7); Muttus (50), a native of West Bengal; and Rubina (25) with her daughter Hasina (7), police said.
The injured, identified as Hasibul (25), husband of Rubina, is undergoing treatment. Continuous rainfall hampered rescue operations.
According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials, they received a call about the wall collapse at 9:16 a.m. Three fire tenders, along with police teams, rushed to the spot. The overnight downpour, which began around 11 p.m. on Friday, lashed several parts of Delhi-NCR, prompting the India Meteorological Department to issue a red alert for Saturday.
Police said their PCR unit received the first call at 9:13 a.m., with the caller reporting in Hindi: “Badi deewar gir gayi hai” (a big wall has fallen) and that four to five people were trapped under the debris.
A senior police officer said the Station House Officer (SHO) of Jaitpur, along with all available staff, immediately reached the site carrying ropes and rescue tools. “Rescue operations were initiated without delay. Additional DCP (South-East) Aishwarya Sharma and ACP Ravishankar also arrived to oversee the operations,” the officer said.
The collapsed portion of the wall was broken through to rescue those trapped. Eight people were pulled out from the rubble and rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital.
“Of the eight, seven — including three men, two women, and two minor girls, succumbed to their injuries during treatment. The injured person, identified as Hasibul, son of Khushana, a resident of Gangadhari, Jortalapara in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, is undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital’s trauma centre,” the officer added, noting that the wall collapsed onto huts built alongside it.
Sources said many of the affected families were labourers living in makeshift huts. The DFS and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) conducted a thorough search but found no other persons trapped.
The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be determined. Officials suspect that heavy overnight rainfall may have caused waterlogging and soil weakening, contributing to the failure.
A senior DFS official said, “The intensity of the rain since Friday night has been very high, which may have weakened structures in low-lying and vulnerable areas. We are examining whether poor maintenance, construction defects, or natural causes triggered the collapse.”
Police have registered a case under relevant sections of law. “We will examine the structural condition of the wall, ownership, and any negligence involved. Statements of witnesses and survivors will be recorded,” the officer said.
Relatives of the deceased recalled the horror. “Some people were making roti, some were eating rice, and others were about to go to work when we heard the sound of the wall collapsing,” said Ranjan, whose five family members later died in hospital.
Many of the victims were migrant workers from West Bengal who had settled in Delhi in search of livelihood.
“There are seven or eight people in the hospital. Five are from my family, my mother, father, brother, and two children. My niece is seven, and my nephew is eight. The rest are from nearby villages. Some worked as carpenters, others in private companies,” Ranjan said.
Locals said the wall collapsed around 9 am, trapping people inside their jhuggis. “It fell on eight people, two children, a woman, and several men. All were rushed to hospital in serious condition,” said a resident.
Another eyewitness, Rahees, said, “All the people living here are either labourers or ragpickers, earning barely ₹200 to ₹500 a day.”
Inundated stretches, uprooted trees, and bad roads cripled most of Delhi.
The deceased were identified as Safiqul (27) and his wife Doli (28), both natives of Assam; Ravi Bul (27) and his daughter Ruksana (7); Muttus (50), a native of West Bengal; and Rubina (25) with her daughter Hasina (7), police said.
The injured, identified as Hasibul (25), husband of Rubina, is undergoing treatment. Continuous rainfall hampered rescue operations.
According to Delhi Fire Service (DFS) officials, they received a call about the wall collapse at 9:16 a.m. Three fire tenders, along with police teams, rushed to the spot. The overnight downpour, which began around 11 p.m. on Friday, lashed several parts of Delhi-NCR, prompting the India Meteorological Department to issue a red alert for Saturday.
Police said their PCR unit received the first call at 9:13 a.m., with the caller reporting in Hindi: “Badi deewar gir gayi hai” (a big wall has fallen) and that four to five people were trapped under the debris.
A senior police officer said the Station House Officer (SHO) of Jaitpur, along with all available staff, immediately reached the site carrying ropes and rescue tools. “Rescue operations were initiated without delay. Additional DCP (South-East) Aishwarya Sharma and ACP Ravishankar also arrived to oversee the operations,” the officer said.
The collapsed portion of the wall was broken through to rescue those trapped. Eight people were pulled out from the rubble and rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre and Safdarjung Hospital.
“Of the eight, seven — including three men, two women, and two minor girls, succumbed to their injuries during treatment. The injured person, identified as Hasibul, son of Khushana, a resident of Gangadhari, Jortalapara in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, is undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital’s trauma centre,” the officer added, noting that the wall collapsed onto huts built alongside it.
Sources said many of the affected families were labourers living in makeshift huts. The DFS and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) conducted a thorough search but found no other persons trapped.
The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be determined. Officials suspect that heavy overnight rainfall may have caused waterlogging and soil weakening, contributing to the failure.
A senior DFS official said, “The intensity of the rain since Friday night has been very high, which may have weakened structures in low-lying and vulnerable areas. We are examining whether poor maintenance, construction defects, or natural causes triggered the collapse.”
Police have registered a case under relevant sections of law. “We will examine the structural condition of the wall, ownership, and any negligence involved. Statements of witnesses and survivors will be recorded,” the officer said.
Relatives of the deceased recalled the horror. “Some people were making roti, some were eating rice, and others were about to go to work when we heard the sound of the wall collapsing,” said Ranjan, whose five family members later died in hospital.
Many of the victims were migrant workers from West Bengal who had settled in Delhi in search of livelihood.
“There are seven or eight people in the hospital. Five are from my family, my mother, father, brother, and two children. My niece is seven, and my nephew is eight. The rest are from nearby villages. Some worked as carpenters, others in private companies,” Ranjan said.
Locals said the wall collapsed around 9 am, trapping people inside their jhuggis. “It fell on eight people, two children, a woman, and several men. All were rushed to hospital in serious condition,” said a resident.
Another eyewitness, Rahees, said, “All the people living here are either labourers or ragpickers, earning barely ₹200 to ₹500 a day.”