E Delhi apartment roof caves in, 1 dies

Building Material Was Stocked On Terrace

 

A 40-year-old man died and two people, including an elderly woman, were injured after the roof of a seven-storey apartment collapsed at Madhu Vihar in east Delhi on Sunday evening. 
    Police said the damaged top-floor flat is owned by Naresh Dua. The family was in the drawing room when a portion of the roof caved in around 6.45pm. Chunks of concrete fell on them, causing serious injury to three members. All three were taken to the nearby Max Hospital, where Vikash Kohli (40) was declared dead. His mother, 75-year-old Shamli Kohli, and daughter, Nidhi Dua (45), are critical, hospital sources said. 
    Police said building materials were piled on the terrace of the Block C building, possibly for some construction activity. The fire brigade, which started rescue operations, pulled out the trapped occupants. A portion of the fifth floor was also damaged but no casualties were reported. A team of the Disaster Management Authority soon arrived. 
    Though east Delhi has had building collapses, this seems to be the first one to be reported from a housing complex, which is supposed to be well-planned. Even East Delhi Municipal Corporation officials were shocked as no complaint about unauthorized construction or cracks on the building developing had been made. “It is a group housing society on private land and the corporation has no role in it. We only check unauthorized construction but nothing of that kind was taking place. It was just an old structure. The family was stocking raw materials on the roof and it is believed that the ceiling collapsed under its weight. The exact reason is still not known,” said Y S Mann, the East Corporation spokesman. The officials have evacuated the building and are manually removing the debris on the seventh floor. A senior cop said they are investigating the circumstances leading to the collapse and investigating if any norms were violated.

WITHOUT WARNING: Two members of the family, which stayed on the seventh floor of a housing complex in Madhu Vihar, are critical