New Delhi, 2 May

A 28-year-old woman and her three children died when their house in Najafgarh area collapsed after a tree fell on it during heavy rain in the national capital on Friday morning, an official said.

Another incident was reported at Dwarka's Chhawla area, where three people sustained minor injuries when a wall collapsed.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said a PCR call at 5.26 am reported a house collapse in Kharkhari Nahar village in Najafgarh.

When police reached the spot, they found that strong gusty winds that accompanied the rain had uprooted a neem tree that crashed onto a small one-room house in the area. A family of five was trapped under the debris, he said.

"Police and fire department officers pulled the family out of the rubble and shifted them to a nearby hospital in Jaffarpur Kalan, where four of them were declared dead," the official said.

The woman identified as Jyoti and her children Aryan, 7, Rishabh 5 and Priyansh 7 months died in the incident while her husband Ajay, 30, sustained minor injuries on his chest and wrist.

The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said it received a call about the incident at 5.25 am. "We deployed multiple teams to the spot and five people were pulled out from the rubble," a DFS official said.

DCP Singh said that at 5.30 am another PCR call was received at Chhawla police station reporting that three people were injured in a wall collapse at Paparawat village near Prahlad Mandir.

He said 41-year-old Omprakash 41 and his two sons – Luv, 13 and Saurabh 15 -- receiving minor injuries.

"No serious injury was reported to any of the three individuals. CATS (centralised accident and trauma services) ambulance took them to a hospital. The injured are out of danger," he said.

Heavyrain and strong winds affected flight operations and disrupted traffic due to waterlogging in the city. Trees were uprooted in many parts of Delhi that also saw a dust storm early morning.

Recalling the Najafgarh house collapse, local resident Kishan Singh said, "Around 6 am we suddenly heard people shouting and running towards the small tubewell house. Sensing something serious, we too rushed to the spot. When we were closer, we could hear the desperate cries of a man calling for help. Several villagers gathered there quickly, and someone informed the police and fire brigade."

"When they were finally pulled out of the rubble, it was an unbearable sight to witness. A severely injured woman and her three small children laid there battling for their lives. The heart-wrenching scene will haunt us for a long time," Kishan said, with his voice trembling from the memory.

Several village women were seen crying inconsolably.

According to the Delhi Fire Services, the department received over 98 emergency calls related to house damages, roof collapses and falling of trees due to the heavy rainstorm. The department received distress calls from 5 am to 9 am and responded to each one immediately.