Heritage mosque in Old Delhi locality collapses, devotees safely evacuated
A purported video of the incident ostensibly shows a wall on the ground floor collapsing leading to upper floors cascading down
A portion of a three-storeyed heritage mosque in Hauz Qazi, in central Delhi, collapsed on Monday afternoon, days after it developed cracks, police officers aware of the matter said.
The officers said no injuries were reported during the incident as the building and surrounding areas were evacuated shortly before the collapse.
A senior Delhi police officer said the mosque is 70 years old, last renovated around seven to eight years back. On Monday morning, locals noticed big cracks in the wall of the mosque and called the police, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, BSES and disaster management officials. The mosque and three houses surrounding it were evacuated.
The mosque is located in a congested lane in Churiwalan area. A purported video of the incident ostensibly shows a wall on the ground floor collapsing leading to upper floors cascading down. The mosque was functional till Sunday as people offered prayers ahead of Eid celebrations.
Deputy commissioner of police (central), M Harsha Vardhan, said they received a call around 1pm about the cracked wall. “Police rushed to the spot and evacuated people from the mosque and three surrounding buildings. Around 1.55pm, the building partly collapsed. Police have been deployed to cordon off the area around the remaining part of the structure,” said the DCP.
Locals and shopkeepers were asked to leave as the cracks on the building “looked bigger”. Locals were given 5-10 minutes to pick up their belongings and leave their houses. Some people also said there was a road cave-in which led to the collapse. However, police and MCD officials denied this and said nothing else was damaged due to the collapse. An MCD spokesperson said that the mosque collapsed due to a weak foundation and there was no case of road subsidence. Two fire tenders were also pressed into service, said officials, adding that part of the building fell on the road which had to be cordoned off. Police have also barricaded the area.