A residential building collapsed in the early hours of Saturday in northeastern New Delhi, killing at least 11 people, including three children.
The four-storey structure crumbled in a densely populated district known for housing migrant workers, leaving rescue teams scrambling through debris all day.
According to NDTV, eleven others were pulled from the rubble and rushed to hospital; five remain under treatment.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed sorrow, offering condolences to grieving families and prayers for the injured via a post on X.
President Droupadi Murmu, speaking from her residence 20 kilometers away, called the deaths of women and children especially tragic.
The cause of the collapse remains unknown, though allegations of negligence and corruption quickly surfaced in its aftermath.
Delhi minister Kapil Mishra blamed rampant corruption in the rival-run municipal government for allowing illegal constructions to flourish.
He called for a comprehensive survey of unauthorized buildings and urged immediate legal action to prevent future tragedies.
Local media described the collapse as sudden and devastating, saying the building fell “like a stack of cards.”
Building collapses are alarmingly frequent across India, where overcrowded cities and lax regulation often leave vulnerable communities at risk.
Many such structures are built without approval and house laborers in unsafe conditions, hidden in plain sight on the city’s fringes.
As daylight faded, hope dimmed for any more survivors beneath the rubble, turning another preventable disaster into a national lament.