Delhi house collapse death toll reaches 5

The toll in a west Delhi four-storey building collapse rose to five on Sunday with the recovery of the body of a nine-year-old girl from the debris, police said.

The body was discovered after rescue workers used earth-moving equipment, shovels and even bare hands to shift mangled heaps of steel and concrete from the building that caved in late Saturday night in the Vishnu Garden locality of west Delhi.

"The girl's body was pulled out from the debris a little while ago. The body was found pressed between two doors," joint commissioner of police Dependra Pathak told IANS adding that 13 people were injured in the mishap -- of them six seriously.

Delhi's Public Works Department Minister Satyendra Jain announced an ex-gratia relief of Rs.2 lakh for the next of kin of each of those killed and Rs.50,000 each for those seriously injured.

"A magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident," Jain said at the site on Sunday. He said the report would be submitted in a week.

Police believe the building, located in a narrow winding lane, was illegally built.

Municipal authorities said the permission granted to the builder was for only three floors and not five.

"The top two floors in the building were built without permission, as the permission granted for the construction was only for three floors. In fact, the foundation of the building was also weak," said an official of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC)