New Delhi: There was a cushion between a student’s face and a concrete slab that he was under. The rest of the youth’s body was pinned under the debris. Local people were desperately trying to lift a heavy block of concrete to free him.“1, 2, 3, uthaaa.” the rescuers yelled, hoping to give each other and the youth a boost. But the slab was too heavy to be lifted at once.At the building collapse site at Satya Niketan, scenes like this one were visible everywhere. Residents, students and rescuers were trying whatever was in their power to save lives.“When the structure collapsed, students started to immediately clear the debris. The ones who were trapped were screaming ‘bachao, bachao humein’. 6-7 students have been rescued by now, more are trapped inside,” said Rajiv Kumar (42).There was a human chain of hands clearing the debris. Some residents had ordered oxygen cylinders from quick commerce apps for those trapped under the rubble. Locals attempted to pump the oxygen through gaps in the debris to help the students breathe and prevent suffocation from dust, while waiting for heavy machinery to arrive and move the heavy slabs of concrete. The human chain also cleared the path of rubble so that the rescue work would not slow down.To the residents, the collapse felt like an earthquake. “We felt the ground shake. When we ran outside, we saw that a house had completely collapsed,” said Roshan Pal, a student from Lucknow.“When I came out, a cloud of dust was spreading in all directions. That’s when we realised that the building had collapsed. We started removing one part of a wall soon after. Seven students were pinned under it,” said Rahul Gaur, a resident.University of Delhi South Campus director, professor Rajni Abbi, said the university was trying to ascertain how many students lived in the Satya Niketan building. “The exact number of people inside the collapsed building is not known yet. We have informed all colleges and asked them to assess how many of their students are residing in Satya Niketan,” Abbi said.She said colleges had also been asked to ensure the safety of students living in the area and call them back to their respective campuses. “A call was received from inside the debris, and there has also been a video call from within. Our prime concern is that the children come out safely,” she said.Ram, a resident, said the collapse happened around 1.20 pm. “NDRF arrived first, with 11–12 personnel,” he added.The building had no pillars, the resident said. “In the Satya Niketan area, many houses do not have pillars. These are old buildings, constructed when Satya Niketan was first developed, and floors have since been added to these structures. In the building that collapsed, some work was on in the basement. Water had accumulated there,” he said.Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) president Aryan Maan said: “I arrived within ten minutes, assembling ABVP volunteers from South Campus to dig through the rubble and help evacuate survivors.”Teams from NSUI and AISA also came. NSUI president Vinod Jakhar rushed to the spot after learning that an organisation member was trapped inside the structure. “I reached as soon as I could and found an absence of immediate civic administration, police, or fire response. Student volunteers manually hauled away concrete slabs, managing to pull three victims out, saving two lives. One resident had died.”Student groups immediately transformed their digital networks into emergency lifelines, circulating helpline numbers across social media.Multiple vehicles were also crushed.
