Earthquake cracks suspected behind Delhi building collapse that killed 3

A residential building collapsed in Seemapuri, killing three people and injuring eight others. Officials suspect earthquake-triggered cracks, while rescue teams continue searching the debris.People gather on site after a four-storey building collapsed in Delhi. (Photo: PTI)New Delhi,Oct 7, 2026 22:55 ISTThree people, including a child and a 21-year-old pregnant woman, were killed and eight others injured after a building collapsed in northeast Delhi's Seemapuri area on Wednesday. While the actual cause of the collapse is yet to be ascertained, authorities suspect cracks that appeared in the building after tremors from the Uttarakhand earthquake on Tuesday evening may have led to the incident.According to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), neighbours said the owner had started vacating the structure after cracks appeared.Tremors were felt across several parts of north India on Tuesday evening after a 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck near Chamoli in Uttarakhand. Residents in Delhi reported feeling buildings shake and objects move.Police said the four-storey building stood on a plot of about 225 square feet. The MCD, however, described it as a three-storey structure in a jhuggi-jhopri area spread over around 22 square yards in the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) area near the Idgah Machhli Mandi. The civic body said the building was about 20 to 25 years old and was occupied at the time of the incident. It also said walls of an adjoining building had fallen and the boundary wall of a nearby mosque had collapsed because of the impact.The MCD said local enquiries suggested that families involved in ragpicking were in the area and some were collecting plastic and other material when the building came down. "According to statements of neighbours, the building had developed cracks due to the earthquake last night and the owner was vacating it," the civic body said. It added that emergency teams reached the site and immediately began rescue operations. The dead were identified as Gulafsa, 21, who was around four months pregnant, an unidentified girl aged about 12 and another unidentified child aged around one-and-a-half years.Eight people, aged between three and 56, were injured in the building collapse and are currently undergoing treatment.The incident came a month after a building in southwest Delhi's Satya Niketan collapsed on September 6, leaving seven people dead and 12 injured. The Delhi Traffic Police issued an advisory asking commuters to avoid the area as movement was affected around the Seemapuri roundabout, DLF Bhopura and adjoining roads.- Ends