A roof collapse at a two-storey house in the Shani Bazar area of outer north Delhi left six members of a family injured on Sunday morning, with the incident also sparking a fire. The accident occurred around 7 am when the family was reportedly preparing breakfast in the kitchen, leading to both burn and impact injuries.
According to the police, they received an emergency call about the fire and building collapse at 7:53 am. The incident took place in the Narela area of Delhi, and two fire tenders were immediately rushed to the location. Delhi Fire Services chief Atul Garg confirmed that the roof of a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Janta flat had collapsed, causing the Piped Natural Gas (PNG) pipeline to break, which ignited a fire. The fire spread throughout the house, causing extensive damage and injuries to the occupants.
The family members who were injured have been identified as 40-year-old Raju, his wife 35 year old Rajeshwari, their 18 year old son Rahul, and their three daughters 12 year old Mohini, five year old Varsha, and three years old Mahi. At the time of the incident, the family was in the kitchen, and the collapse trapped them under the debris. Neighbours quickly arrived at the scene and assisted the injured before emergency services reached the spot.
Initially, there were concerns that a gas cylinder explosion had caused the collapse. Eyewitnesses feared that a cylinder might have exploded, triggering the building’s collapse and subsequent fire. However, after a thorough inspection, authorities confirmed that there had been no cylinder blast. Instead, the collapse was caused by the roof’s failure, and the rupture of the PNG gas pipeline led to the fire.
The six injured family members were rushed to Raja Harishchandra Hospital for medical treatment. According to doctors, they sustained a combination of injuries from the falling debris and burns caused by the proximity of the fire. Raju, the father, suffered 52 per cent burn injuries, while his wife Rajeshwari and son Rahul sustained 45 per cent burn injuries each. The three daughters, Mohini, Varsha, and Mahi, suffered burns to 50 per cent, 6 per cent, and 8 per cent of their bodies, respectively.
The police are continuing to investigate the cause of the collapse and the fire.
