4 dead, several feared trapped after building collapses in Delhi's Mustafabad

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) Four people died and many are feared to be trapped as a building collapsed in the Mustafabad area of Delhi on Saturday, police said.

The incident took place around 3 a.m., police added.

"Four people died after a building collapsed in the Mustafabad area in Delhi this morning," Delhi Police said early Saturday.

Meanwhile, Sandeep Lamba, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, North East District, said 14 people were rescued.

Lamba said, "... 14 people were rescued, but four among them succumbed... it was a four-storey building...rescue operation is underway. Eight to ten people are still feared trapped."

Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), police, and dog squad are present at the spot. Rescue operations are underway.

The house collapse incident occurred just hours after a sudden shift in Delhi's weather on Friday night when heavy rainfall and thunderstorms lashed several parts of the city.

In a separate incident last week, a wall of an under-construction building collapsed during a severe dust storm near Madhu Vihar police station, leaving one person dead and two others injured.

The four-storeyed building had 20 to 25 people living in it. So far, 8 people have been rescued and taken to GTB Hospital for treatment.

The reason for the collapse is not yet clear.

Rajendra Atwal, Divisional Fire Officer, said the fire department received a call at around 2:50 a.m.

"We received a call regarding a house collapse around 2:50 a.m. ... we reached the spot and found out that the entire building has collapsed and people are trapped under the debris... NDRF, Delhi Fire Service are working to rescue the people," he said.

According to the IMD's forecast for Saturday, the sky will be "partly cloudy" and become "generally cloudy" towards Saturday evening.

Very light rain or drizzle is likely, accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and dust storms, along with winds with a speed of 40-50 km per hour, gusting up to 60 kmph, in the evening.

The maximum and minimum temperatures are expected to hover around 38 degrees Celsius and 26 degrees Celsius, respectively.

--IANS

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