On Saturday night, they had gathered for ordinary reasons – a cup of tea after hours of studying, a meal with friends, a small celebration after clearing a competitive examination. But within seconds, those plans were buried beneath concrete when an illegally constructed building collapsed in south Delhi’s Saidulajab, killing at least six people.Among the dead were two young doctors preparing for licensing examinations, three engineers chasing government careers, and the owner of a modest canteen. (Ishant Chauhan/ HT)Among the dead were two young doctors preparing for licensing examinations, three engineers chasing government careers, and the owner of a modest canteen. A look at the lives lost.Nalin Rai, 23Nalin graduated from Muzaffarpur Institute of Technology in 2024 and came to Delhi a year ago to prepare for engineering services examinations, aiming to secure a government position. He is survived by his father, a farmer in Bihar; his mother; an elder brother; and an elder sister. Nalin had gone to eat paranthas with friends to celebrate Kapil, another deceased, clearing an exam to become a scientific officer.His uncle, DK Dheeraj, a government official, said he was Nalin’s legal guardian and had financially supported his education. “I was in Punjab. I reached here around 6am, and his body was recovered in front of my eyes around 8am. The operation was very slow. But he is gone, and we can’t blame anyone now,” he said.Kapil, 26An engineer originally from Rajasthan, Kapil’s family was yet to reach Delhi by Sunday afternoon. His friends said he had cleared a competitive exam on Saturday, and they had all gone to the mess to eat paranthas famous at this eatery. “He was very happy. We didn’t know the happiness would turn into tragedy,” said Ashutosh Kumar, 23, one of the injured.Dr Ravi Prakash, 26Ravi’s family said he had completed his MBBS from a university in Kyrgyzstan in 2024 and had been staying in Saidulajab for the last year and a half preparing for the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination. His father is a farmer in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda.“He had taken loans to send Ravi for his MBBS degree. He was very hopeful that Ravi would clear the exam on June 28,” said Raheem Rajput, 26, Ravi’s roommate, who is also preparing for the same exam. Rajput said Ravi and a few friends had gone to the mess to have tea. “After the exam, we had decided to go on a trip together.”Dr Ekta, 24Ekta was originally from Rajasthan’s Alwar and had completed her MBBS from a university in Kyrgyzstan. Her body was pulled out of the debris around 4pm, police said.Ekta’s father, Ramesh, 65, a farmer, said she had been staying here for a year, also preparing for FMGE. “We had spoken to her a while before the incident. Everything was okay. We were informed about the incident at 9pm, and we rushed here,” he said. Ekta is survived by her parents and two younger sisters.Alok Verma, 23Alok was originally from Lucknow, and his family was yet to reach Delhi by Sunday afternoon. He was a BTech graduate preparing for the Engineering Services Examination, officials said.Parvati Ojha, 39Parvati was the owner of the canteen crushed under the collapsed building. According to her family, she and her husband started the eatery, covered with a tin shed, about four years ago and used to offer food at affordable prices. She used to work as a cook in homes before starting the business.Her daughter Neelam, 25, said her father, who was working with Parvati on Saturday evening, stepped out to go to the market at the time of the incident. “We were told by one of the workers who managed to come out that my mother had realised the building was collapsing and went inside to tell the students to leave, but the building collapsed within seconds,” she said.The family said there were barely one or two such eateries where students could afford food daily, which is why several students used to come here.