A 47-year-old woman died and eight others members of her family, including five minors, suffered injuries when the roof of their house collapsed in Dwarka’s Uttam Nagar on Saturday.
The deceased has been identified as Dulari Devi; the injured have been identified as Rakhi (30), Rani (30), Dharminder (30), Akhil (3), Sonam (12), Kannu (8), Akansh (6), and Sanjeev (11).
Delhi Fire Service director Atul Garg said that a call was received regarding the collapse at 3.01 p.m. after which fire personnel and local police reached the spot.
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“Three fire tenders were pressed into service. The officials found nine persons had been rescued and rushed to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital by the locals,” Mr Garg said. Dulari was declared dead in the hospital. The other eight sustained minor injuries and were discharged after treatment.
A senior police officer said that families of two brothers Musafir and Vijay, both workers at a petrol pump, lived on the ground and first floor, respectively. They were constructing their own house in the area and had shifted to this house 10 months ago.
“On Saturday, Vijay’s brother-in-law was visiting with his son and two children of his brother. The family is suspected to have gathered on the ground floor when its roof collapsed. The deceased is Vijay’s wife,” the officer said.
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The police said that the house is spread over 50 square yards and that the ground floor’s roof was constructed using stone slabs with a false ceiling. There were two rooms on the first floor; the roof of one of them collapsed.
The police said that the owner of the house has been identified as Girdhari Kataria, a resident of Mohan Garden who retired from BSES in 2012 as assistant security officer. “A case is being registered under relevant sections... an investigation is under way,” the officer added.