Five labourers are feared trapped under the rubble of a three-storey building that collapsed in Delhi's Satya Niketan area on Monday, fire officials said.
The building was undergoing renovation when it collapsed, they said.
Director of Delhi Fire Services Atul Garg said, "We received a call around 1:24 pm about a house collapse in Satya Niketan building number 173 here. Six fire tenders have been rushed to the spot."
Five labourers are trapped under the debris and efforts are being made to rescue them, he said.
"Our priority is to rescue the trapped labourers who were working inside the building which was under renovation. Since this building is in a congested area, the main challenge was to take the rescue vehicles inside the area. It was a difficult task. However, our vehicles have reached the spot and our men are already at work," Garg said.
A senior fire official said according to preliminary inquiry, it seems that the building was not in a good condition to undergo renovation.
"This was an old building and it was not in a good condition to go ahead with the renovation plans. We have got to know through local inquiry that the said building was being renovated to convert it into a PG accommodation. So, they must have broken some structure for this purpose which led to the collapse," he said.
"Since renovation was underway, no one was living in the building. It has also been found that there was no proper building plan. It was not a planned construction and was also not approved by the concerned authorities," he said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Manoj C said police are also helping with the rescue operation.
"Our priority is to rescue the trapped men. My team and I are at the spot and helping the other agencies with the rescue operation," he said.
