Tragedy struck Vasant Vihar in southwest Delhi on Saturday as the bodies of three laborers were recovered from a flooded basement after a 28-hour rescue operation. The men had become trapped when a wall collapsed due to heavy rains on Friday.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with other agencies, worked tirelessly to reach the victims. NDRF deputy commander Ajit Kumar reported that their team arrived at the scene around 10 AM, initiating a rescue operation that lasted nearly 23 hours. The first body was recovered at 5 PM, followed by the second at 7:15 PM, and the third at 9:15 AM. A confirmatory search is underway to ensure no one else is trapped.
The basement, dug to a depth of 20 feet, was filled with 10 feet of water, slush, debris, and even fallen trees. This challenging environment, combined with iron rods and other construction materials, significantly hindered the rescue efforts. Two pumps were employed to drain the water, but their effectiveness was hampered by the mud and debris clogging the machinery.
The victims were identified as Santosh Yadav (19), his namesake Santosh Yadav (20), and Daya Ram (45), all residents of Bihar. Their bodies were recovered around 10:45 AM after the water was cleared and transported to Safdarjung Hospital for postmortem.
Teams from the NDRF, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), and civic agencies participated in the search operation, utilizing cranes to clear debris and pumps to remove water. This incident raises the death toll due to rain-related incidents in Delhi to eight. The monsoon’s arrival in Delhi has been marked by record-breaking rainfall, with the city experiencing its highest single-day rainfall in June in 88 years.
