Delhi Building Collapse: How A Weak Basement Pillar Brought Down A 50-Year-Old Structure

A five-storey building in Delhi's Satya Niketan area collapsed on Sunday afternoon, killing seven people and injuring six others. The structure, roughly 50 years old, housed around 75 students in paying guest rooms at the time of the incident.

Preliminary investigations suggest the collapse originated in the basement, where repair work was underway. An AI-based reconstruction of the event, using available data, indicates that a pillar in the basement became weak during this work. The building had reportedly begun tilting months earlier, yet repair activity continued without the installation of jacks or temporary structural supports.

Continuous rainfall is believed to have led to water accumulation in the basement, compounding the structural stress. The reconstruction shows the weakened pillar failing, with the collapse propagating upward as successive floors lost support. The entire building turned to rubble within moments, trapping dozens under the debris.

Authorities have registered a case against the owners, Hariram Bansal, also known as Gupta, and his brother, alleging that they added four floors to the old structure to increase rental income. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stated that preliminary findings point to a combination of waterlogging and repair work on the ageing structure as the cause. She added that about 80% of the debris has been cleared, with only basement rubble remaining.

Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa echoed that the basement work may have triggered the collapse. Investigators are now examining the condition of the pillar, the basement, and the nature of the repair work to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the tragedy.