Satya Niketan building collapse: students turn to phones to look for missing friends
Following the building collapse in Satya Niketan, students are using social media and messaging apps to coordinate rescue efforts and locate missing peers. The community-led search highlights the desperation of families and friends as they navigate conflicting information about the victims.
Why it matters
It illustrates the role of digital communication tools in crisis management and community mobilization during urban disasters.
While 12 people were located and rescued from the rubble after the Satya Niketan building collapse, a search continued till late on Sunday night for several others whose whereabouts remained unknown, with friends and families awaiting information.
Students across Delhi University (DU) shared names and photographs and made calls to trace missing friends. Sagar of Motilal Nehru College sought help tracing two friends who lived in the collapsed paying guest (PG) accommodation.
Students from nearby colleges also joined rescue efforts, helping remove bricks and debris before heavy machinery arrived. They later formed a human chain with the police to clear the road for earthmovers.
At Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus Metro station, around 400 metres from the collapse site, Saavy, DU president of the All India Students’ Association, scrolled through WhatsApp messages about missing students.
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