A three-storey building under construction in the Dhulkot area near Ambala City in Haryana collapsed on Sunday afternoon while labourers were laying the lintel on the third floor, killing at least four workers and injuring nine others. Around 35 to 40 labourers are believed to have been present at the site when the structure gave way, and rescue teams worked through the afternoon and into the night to pull survivors from the debris. The four workers confirmed dead have been identified as Rajinder Kumar, 50, from Sonta village; Kalia Ram, 48, from Barabanki in Uttar Pradesh; Shastri Ram, 50, from Bahraich, also in Uttar Pradesh; and Roop Singh, 55, from Dangdera village in Punjab, underscoring how migrant construction labour from several states was concentrated at the site. Superintendent of Police Ajit Singh Shekhawat said the top, middle and first floors of the building had partially collapsed and that more workers were feared trapped under the debris, with rescue operations expected to continue overnight.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force were deployed to the site along with heavy earth-moving machinery and multiple ambulances, while nearby residents joined the initial rescue effort before official teams arrived. Deputy Commissioner Sachin Gupta said authorities were collecting details about the land, the building’s construction approvals and its ownership, and indicated that action would follow if the inquiry found evidence of negligence. Officials have not yet disclosed a specific structural or procedural cause for the collapse, saying a full assessment would only follow once the rescue operation concludes. The incident adds to a string of under-construction building collapses reported in northern India in recent years, several of which have been linked to substandard construction practices and inadequate safety oversight at private building sites.
Local authorities said they would examine whether the building had the necessary permits and structural safety clearances before construction began. The state government has not yet announced any compensation for the victims’ families, though such announcements typically follow in the days after such incidents in Haryana.