Two Killed as Under-Construction Building Collapses in Old Delhi's Chawri Bazar

The collapse and the rescue

A three-storey building under construction in Old Delhi's congested Chawri Bazar area collapsed on Thursday morning, 5 November 2026, killing two people and trapping several under the debris. The building, coming up in crammed Gali Sitara near the Chawri Bazar metro station, gave way around 9.45 am. The Delhi Fire Services received a distress call at around 9.50 am, and multiple fire tenders and rescue teams were rushed to the spot.

Joint rescue operations involving Delhi Police, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) continued through the day. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir Singh said four people had been rescued from the debris, of whom two had succumbed to their injuries while the other two were stable and out of danger. He said around 10 to 15 labourers were present when the construction was going on.

The two who died were identified as Kishori (40) and Sanjeet (45), both residents of the railway colony in Mandawali and working as labourers at the construction site. Reports differed on the number of injured people: PTI reported two injured, Sahdev Chaudhary (25) and Firoz (37), who were recovering, while News18 reported four others injured. Early reports had said as many as 15 people were feared trapped, but police later said four people had been pulled out of the debris.

Unauthorised construction under scrutiny

Officials said the structure was an unauthorised construction on a 50 square metre plot, with no sanctioned building plan. Delhi Police had previously flagged the unauthorised construction to the MCD in a communication dated 15 June, when the station house officer of Hauz Qazi police station informed the civic body that unauthorised construction was being carried out at the site.

An MCD official said construction work at the building had virtually stopped around 15 days ago. The building had gone up to the third floor and collapsed while the roof slab was being constructed. According to the official, the material used was non-engineered and had not set properly, which eventually led to the collapse.

Residents said the building had been under construction for the past three to four months and alleged it was being constructed in haste ahead of the seasonal ban on construction activities. The exact cause of the collapse is yet to be established by the inquiry.

Action ordered and a wider safety concern

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered an inquiry into the collapse and directed the registration of an FIR against the contractor. She also ordered the immediate suspension of the junior engineer and assistant engineer concerned and directed officials to ensure the best possible medical treatment for the injured and immediate ex-gratia assistance to the affected families. Police have registered an FIR under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against the building owners and contractors, and police said the builders had been identified and efforts were underway to locate them.

This is the second major building collapse in Delhi in less than two weeks, raising fresh concerns about structural safety and unauthorised construction in the national capital. Three major building collapse incidents were reported between 6 September and 25 October, claiming 13 lives: seven people died in Satya Niketan on 6 September, four died in New Seemapuri on 7 October, and a 60-year-old man and his 33-year-old son died in Harsh Vihar on 25 October.

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