2 dead as three-storey building collapses in Indore; tenant claims he had warned landlord about danger

A three-storey house collapsed in Indore’s Ranipura area on Monday (September 22, 2025) night following rains, killing two persons and injuring 12 others, officials said.

District Collector Shivam Verma said that 14 members of a family were trapped under the debris of the building.

The deceased were identified as Alifa (20) and Fahimuddin Ansari alias Fahim (40).

Of them, 12 were undergoing treatment at the Maharaja Yeshwantrao Government Hospital (MYH), the officer said, adding the deceased have been identified as Alifa and Faheem.

Dean of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, Dr. Arvind Ghanghoria, told PTI that Alifa (20), who was trapped under the debris of the collapsed building, was brought to the Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

The five-hour rescue operation is now over, the district collector said. “The front portion of the building had recently been rebuilt, but the back portion was old. We will investigate the condition of the building’s foundation.”

Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava said that a portion of the collapsed building fell on a neighbouring structure. Preliminary information suggests the building was eight to 10 years old.

Tenant warned landlord a week ago

The landlord had been warned a week ago about the dilapidated condition of the three-storey building.

Three front rooms of the building were rented out while 22 members of landlord Sammu Ansari’s family occupied the rest of the building, located in a densely populated area.

One of the rooms was rented by electrical goods businessman Shashank Gupta who used it as a warehouse.

“Eight days ago, after seeing the condition of the building, I told Ansari twice or thrice that it could collapse any moment, and he should be careful. The shutter of my warehouse had slid down on its own, which alerted me,” Mr. Gupta told PTI as he visited the spot on Tuesday (September 23, 2025).

As the landlord ignored his warning, he rented two warehouses elsewhere and moved 70% of his goods there, Mr. Gupta added.

“If it had not rained on Monday (September 22, 2025), I would have moved the remaining goods too,” he said, adding that he had already decided to vacate the warehouse.

Rainwater flowing down the Jawahar Marg which entered the basement and burrowing by rats caused the building’s foundation to weaken over a period of time, Mr. Gupta said.

Mohammad Amil Ansari, who lives nearby, also said that the landlord had been warned by the tenants about the danger.

“Eight members of Ansari’s family were outside at the time of the collapse. Had they been inside, the tragedy could have been even worse,” he said.

Police as well as the administration are conducting detailed investigations, they said.