Building collapse was nerve-wrecking: Old Delhi residents

It was a deafening sound and suddenly two buildings were razed to the ground tonight leaving many trapped inside concrete rubble, Walled city residents said.

The buzzle in the narrow lanes of Old Delhi's Chandni Mahal suddenly became silent as several families living in the ill-fated building were buried beneath the debris.

Locals say at least 12-13 families stay in the building which came down crushing around 8 PM tonight.

Soon fire brigade and ambulances rushed to the spot along with police, while locals joined rescue workers to help those trapped inside the debris.

The scene was of chaos as the narrow lanes leading to the tragedy site in Old Delhi's Chandni Mahal area near Jama Masjid slowed down the pace of rescue work.

One of the buildings which collapsed was 70-year-old and three-storey.

"It was a really old building. A construction was happening adjacent to this building and they had dug an equally deep foundation which led to the weakening of this building's foundation," a local claimed.

Irshaad Alam, another local, said the lanes were extremely narrow and it was very difficult for fire engines to enter. "There's no electricity or power here, this has led to delay in rescue services," he said.

"This is a very congested. Minimum 12-13 families are staying in one building, its very difficult to determine how many people are still under the rubble.

"Medical cars and ambulances have  reached here but machines to remove the rubble still haven't reached here," said Kasif, another local.

There were nothing other than rubble at the site where the building stood. Cries of people and siren blare could be heard all around the area.

Rescue workers had a tough time breaking the walls and concrete slabs to pull people out of the rubble.

Locals claimed the construction was taking place for the past one month and the building had weakened because of the construction activities.