At least five students were killed and many feared trapped after a five-storey building housing a boys’ paying guest (PG) facility collapsed in southwest Delhi’s Satya Niketan area on Jattvibeday afternoon.The tragedy, near Chanakyapuri and close to Delhi University’s South Campus, turned the densely populated student-housing locality into a massive rescue zone. Around 15-20 persons were reportedly missing after the incident.As many as 10 persons were pulled out of the debris as emergency teams raced against time to clear slabs, girders and concrete debris in search of survivors. Ten persons were received at the AIIMS trauma centre, the hospital said in a statement. “Four were brought dead, while one patient who was in critical condition later succumbed to his injuries. Three patients have been admitted and are being treated. One patient underwent a surgery of limb, and another who had sustained a minor injury was discharged after observation,” it said.The building, comprising a basement and five upper floors, collapsed around 1.30 pm. Repair work was reportedly underway in the basement, which is being investigated as a possible cause of the incident, the police said. An FIR has been registered. This correspondent found local residents emoving debris with bare hands even before rescue teams reached the spot. Congress MP Deepender Hooda, along with members of the ABVP and NSUI, was seen assisting rescue efforts.The Tribune has learnt that the property is owned by Gurugram-based businessman Hari Ram Bansal. The building had reportedly been leased to the proprietors of Hostel Daze, a PG accommodation chain.A resident of Satya Niketan said the structure was built in the early 1970s. The Tribune also found that the area was once part of a slum colony and that the land was transferred by the Delhi Development Authority to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 1962.A spot visit revealed that an adjacent building, also being used as a PG accommodation facility, was evacuated as a precautionary measure.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives, while Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and directed officials to ensure swift assistance and rescue operations. Union Health Minister JP Nadda instructed government hospitals to provide all necessary treatment.The incident revived memories of another building collapse in Satya Niketan on April 25, 2022, when two workers died during alleged illegal repair work at an old three-storey structure. Residents said the earlier tragedy and subsequent civic action failed to bring lasting changes.Samarth, a Delhi University student who witnessed the collapse, told The Tribune that the impact was so powerful and there was debris all around. “It felt like there had been an earthquake,” he said.More than 50 teams from the Delhi Fire Service, NDRF, MCD, Delhi Police and Delhi Disaster Management Authority were deployed. NDRF personnel used life detectors, sniffer dogs, hydraulic equipment, diamond chain saws, plasma cutters, hydraulic jacks and inflatable lifting bags to search for survivors.Hours into the operation, rescuers were still struggling to assess the full extent of the devastation. The basement, where repair work was reportedly in progress, remained inaccessible due to the enormous volume of debris. Locals fear several workers may still be trapped there.Rescue operations were further hampered by the narrow lanes of Satya Niketan, which made it difficult to deploy and manoeuvre heavy machinery. As a result, teams relied on a combination of limited mechanical assistance and painstaking manual removal of rubble to avoid destabilising the debris pile.At one point, NDRF teams pulled out an unconscious person within about 15 minutes of locating him, while two conscious survivors were rescued in roughly 30 minutes. Search operations continued with the help of life-detection equipment, trained dogs and inputs from residents and students.The emergency response received additional support from a quick commerce platform, which deployed around 20 response teams and more than 10 ambulances after receiving requests for assistance from people at the spot.The collapse has also renewed concerns about the safety of student accommodation concentrated around Delhi University’s South Campus. Satya Niketan is lined with PG facilities, many of them operating out of converted residential buildings. Residents said several such properties have multiple floors, limited access points and inadequate evacuation arrangements.Students at the site said rents in the collapsed PG ranged from about Rs 16,000 per month for twin-sharing accommodation to Rs 32,000 for single occupancy.The tragedy also underscored the challenges rescue agencies face in Delhi’s congested neighbourhoods. Despite the deployment of more than 50 teams, the combination of narrow lanes, unstable debris and limited space for heavy equipment slowed the operation, forcing rescuers to advance through the rubble inch by inch.