00:21A terrifying CCTV video is now showing the moment a five-story PG building in Delhi came
00:29crashing down.
00:30And as rescuers continue digging through the rubble, the death toll has risen to seven.
00:36This deadly collapse took place in South Delhi's Satya Nikitin on Sunday afternoon.
00:44The building, which housed a boys PG, collapsed at around 1.30 p.m. while repair work was underway
00:50on the ground floor.
00:52Now fresh CCTV footage from across the road shows just how sudden the collapse was.
00:58A shopkeeper can be seen sitting outside his shop.
01:02Within moments, the structure suddenly gives way.
01:05A huge cloud of dust engulfs the area, and the man runs for his life, narrowly escaping
01:11the collapse.
01:12But inside the rubble, the situation remains desperate.
01:16Eleven people have so far been rescued.
01:19However, officials said around 30 to 50 students were initially feared trapped under the debrity.
01:25Some of those trapped even made phone calls for help from beneath the rubble.
01:30Two NDRF teams with around 70 personnel and a canine squad have been deployed in the search
01:37operation.
01:38Oxygen cylinders have also been lowered into the debris in an attempt to help anyone still
01:43alive underneath.
01:45Local residents have joined the rescue effort too, using their hands and whatever tools they
01:50could find to clear the rubble.
01:53But questions are now mounting over why the building collapsed.
01:57Police say repair and renovation work was underway on the ground floor.
02:01Locals, however, claim water had accumulated in the basement after days of rain, raising questions
02:07about whether the foundation may have been weakened.
02:09The building was around 50 years old and stood on a 55 square yard plot.
02:16An MCD official also said the structure was a ground plus four building, despite the original
02:22permission being only for a ground plus one structure.
02:26That detail could become crucial as authorities investigate the cause of the collapse.
02:31The Delhi government has already suspended five MCD officers, including the deputy commissioner, executive
02:38engineer, superintendent engineer, assistant engineer, and junior engineer.
02:44Meanwhile, police have detained the building owner, Hariram Gupta, in Rajasthan's Biwadi.
02:51An FIR has been registered against the owner and others on charges including culpable homicide, negligence
02:58in maintaining a structure and endangering public safety.
03:02As the rescue operation continues, the focus remains on one question.
03:06Can more people still be found alive under the rubble?
03:10For now, every minute counts.
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