Building Collapse in Connaught Place
A part of a building in Connaught Place collapsed on Thursday early morning, raising concerns about the safety of buildings in the city’s favourite shopping destination. The incident took place on first floor of C-Block above the popular Jain Book Depot where a wall and the roof collapsed. Delhi Police and fire department officials said that nobody was hurt in the incident as the section of the building that collapsed had been vacant for a long time. A security guard present in the building at the time of the incident escaped unhurt. The operation to remove debris from the collapse site by fire department rescue teams continued till late in the morning. A possible tragedy was averted as the incident took place around 2am when the shops in Connaught Place were closed. Had the incident occurred later in the day when inner, middle and outer circles of Connaught Place are packed with shoppers, there could have been casualties, they said. “The fire control room was informed about the collapse around 2.10am after which four fire tenders led by 20 firemen reached the incident site. The section of the building that collapsed was vacant for a long time, which is why no person was there when the incident took place,” a Delhi fire services (DFS) official said. While three fire tenders were sent back after an hour, one vehicle was stationed to handle any incident during the rescue and removal of debris. Later in the morning, senior fire officials and civil engineers reached the spot to take stock of the situation. Some other walls and the floor were also damaged in the collapse, due to which the officers have asked people not to go near the debris. The civil engineers have been informed about the incident. They will investigate further to find out the cause of the collapse.
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