Rohini building collapse: Out to buy equipment, man dies as structure collapses while he was passing on bike

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 9, 2026 10:48 AM IST

A four-storey building collapsed in north west Delhi's Rohini Sector 16 on Wednesday evening amid rainfall, triggering a major rescue operation as several people are feared trapped beneath the debris. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)

Standing amid the rubble in G Block of Rohini’s Sector 16 on Wednesday evening, Shyam Kishore recalled the last conversation he had with his twin brother, Ram, around an hour before an under-construction building collapsed and killed him while he was passing by it.

His shirt splashed with Ram’s blood, Shyam said his brother, who worked as a bike mechanic, lived in the same lane with his associate Ravi. They were out to buy some equipment on Ram’s bike when the building collapsed.

“He called me around 3 pm and asked if I had lunch. He said he was going out,” said Shyam, who runs a tailoring shop from the same premises where Ram worked.

Around 4 pm, Shyam heard a huge thud. “It felt like an earthquake. I came out and saw that a building has collapsed and Ram’s bike was stuck in the debris,” he said, adding that local residents, along with his other brother Naveen and some friends, rushed to the building collapse site.

Ravi, who was riding pillion with Ram, narrowly missed the falling concrete and escaped with an injured leg.

Ram was not so lucky.

“He was hit on the head by a huge slab of stone. He was breathing heavily when he was brought out from under the debris. At the hospital, he was declared dead,” said Shyam.

One of whom who attempted to rescue Ram was Vikas (34), whose father was standing on his balcony when he saw the building – located about 300 m from his house – collapse and turn to dust.

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“We took Ram to the hospital in my car. On the way, he took a huge breath and then suddenly froze,” Vicky said.

According to residents, the under-construction building was owned by the family of Ram Dua and Vinod. Labourers were carrying out interior work when it collapsed, they said, adding that Dua is feared trapped under the debris.

Dua, residents added, used to own a tent business till about two years ago. The building was then a two-storey structure. “The plot adjacent to it was owned by Vinod and they decided to develop a new structure of four floors there,” said a resident.

“They demolished the two-floor building and started the construction of this one. Though it looked almost finished, some work was still going on inside,” Vikas said.

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Ram is survived by his wife Renu and two boys – aged 8 and 12. As local residents gathered around Renu to offer condolences, she sat silently, her eyes fixed on the ground, seemingly unaware of the voices around her.