New Delhi, Sep 9 (PTI) Mohammad Hammad had a narrow escape on Friday when an under construction building collapsed just shy of his house in north Delhi's Azad Market area, blocking the house's main entry with debris and his family stuck behind it.

Hammad, 32, who lives in a narrow street at the back side of the collapsed building, said that he had to break the main door of his house to rescue his family members.

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"I was inside my home when the incident took place around 8 am. The debris blocked the main gate of my residence,” Hammad said.

“I went upstairs on the first floor and entered my neighbour's home through the balcony. With the help of other neighbours, I broke open the upper portion of the main gate of my house and rescued five members of my family,” said Hammad, who has a chicken shop in the area.

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It took him and others two hours to evacuate the family from the house.

Five people were injured when a four-storey under-construction building collapsed on Friday morning. The injured were rushed to the nearby Hindu Rao hospital.

Mohammad Akil had the same experience when his daughter, who studies in Class XI, left for her school only a few minutes before the building collapsed, and was spared any harm.

"We received no injury in the incident, but our house got filled with dust. The main portion of our house also got damaged. The building collapsed five minutes after my daughter left for her school. Our neighbours helped us get out of the premises from the terrace.

“I have a wife and three kids. They have been shifted to our relative's home nearby," said Akil, who works in the private sector.

Hammad said that the construction work on the building was going on for the last two to three months.

He said that at least seven to eight homes have been affected due to the collapse and quite a few people had a narrow escape because of the congested area.

Akhtar Ali, another resident of Sheesh Mahal area, said that his family too escaped through a window.

"My daughter had gone to buy bread and milk and when she came back, she saw that the street was filled with debris. I have a family of seven members and all of them, who were stuck inside the house, came out of it through the window of our neighbours who helped them rescue,” said Ali.

“There was a loud noise when the house collapsed. Initially, it was very difficult to figure out due to the debris blocking the entrance to the house," he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said the building may have collapsed due to overloading and no one was staying in it.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)