Two workers died while three sustained injuries after the factory where they were working collapsed in Shahdara’s Seemapuri on Thursday morning, the police said.
They said the deceased have been identified as Baldev and Dharmender, both in their 30s, from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar respectively.
They were working on the ground floor of the double storey aluminum factory along with the injured — Raju Chaudhary, Mohd Shahbaz and Zumman.
The incident happened at around 11 a.m. when a part of the roof on the first floor collapsed, the locals said.
“A lot of construction work happens here. The workers were probably doing some repair work when the incident happened,” said Sunil Kumar, who runs a dye factory just opposite the spot. Soon after the roof collapse, Sunil and about 15 others rushed to the spot to help the injured. Recalling the rescue process, he said the local police reached on time. However, teams of fire department and Department of Delhi Disaster Management Authority turned up after the locals and the police rescued the victims, he said.
“It took us about two hours to pull the five persons from under the debris. There were iron rods and iron slabs in the debris, which were extremely heavy. After rescuing two persons, we realised another person was trapped,” Sunil said. The third victim told us that there were two more persons trapped inside, he added.
No equipment
“We saw one person who had an iron rod stuck inside and was also under the slab. As there was no other equipment to rescue him, we brought hydraulic, which is used to lift cars. We could only lift the slab a little. He was, however, dead by then,” Sunil said. All five were rushed to Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital where Baldev and Dharmender were declared dead. The injured are undergoing treatment and are said to be out of danger, the police said.
“A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code is being registered and necessary legal action will be taken,” said a senior police officer.
