NEW DELHI, 9 AUG

Seven people were killed when a wall collapsed near Mohan Baba Mandir in Jaitpur amid heavy rains in the national capital on Saturday morning, police said.

While the Delhi Fire Service (DFS) earlier claimed that eight people had died in the incident, police later stated that seven victims were confirmed dead and one injured person was undergoing treatment.

According to DFS officials, the department received a call regarding the wall collapse at 9.16am. Three fire tenders, along with police teams, rushed to the spot. The downpour, which began late Friday night around 11pm, had lashed several parts of Delhi-NCR, and the India Meteorological Department had issued a red alert for Saturday.

Police said the PCR received the first call about the collapse at 9.13am, with the caller stating in Hindi, "Badi deewar gir gayi hai," and that four to five persons were trapped under the debris.

A senior police officer said that upon receiving the call, the Station House Officer (SHO) of Jaitpur, along with all available staff, immediately reached the site carrying ropes and other 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 officer added that the wall was broken through to rescue those trapped. Eight people were pulled out and rushed to the 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 (27), son of Khushana, a resident of Gangadhari, Jortalapara in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, is undergoing treatment at Safdarjung Hospital's trauma centre," said the officer.

Police said a thorough search was carried out by the Delhi Fire Service and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, but no other persons were found under the debris.

The exact cause of the wall collapse is yet to be ascertained. However, officials pointed to the possibility of waterlogging and soil weakening due to the overnight heavy rainfall.

A senior DFS official said, "The intensity of the rain since Friday night has been very high, which may have led to weakening of structures in low-lying and vulnerable areas. In this case, we are still examining whether poor maintenance, construction defects, or natural causes triggered the collapse."

The national capital received heavy rainfall through the night, causing waterlogging in several areas, traffic snarls, and reports of minor wall collapses and tree falls from across the city.

Police said a case is being registered under the appropriate sections of law, and an investigation will be taken up. "We will look into the structural condition of the wall, ownership, and any negligence involved. Statements of witnesses and survivors will be recorded," the officer said.