NEW DELHI: Two boys aged 15 and 17 years died a tragic death after they drowned in a pond-like basin that got created during Friday's heavy rainfall while five people were injured in separate house collapse incidents, officials said on Saturday.
The incident happened in Prem Nagar area of Rohini, where two boys identified as Uday (15) and Mayank (17) died after they drowned in a rainwater filled pond.
DCP (Rohini) GS Sidhu said information was received at Prem Nagar police station from a hospital regarding the death of two teen boys. The police immediately reached the hospital and obtained the Medico-Legal Case (MLCs) of the deceased boys.
As per the MLC, both the boys were declared as brought dead by the medics. "Preliminary inquiry revealed that the boys had drowned in the jheel (pond) formed due to rainwater at DDA land opposite Rani Khera Bus Depot, Delhi while bathing," said the DCP. The officer said the bodies of the deceased boys have been preserved in the hospital for post-mortem. Necessary legal action has been taken into the matter, he added.
In another incident, three people were injured after a two-storey building collapsed in the Model Town area on Saturday evening. "The incident took place in Mahendru Enclave where a dilapidated house, which was being repaired, collapsed around 2.45 pm," a Fire Department officer told the TNIE. Three fire tenders were rushed to the spot but by the time they reached the location, three injured people had already been shifted by the locals to a nearby hospital.
A team of the National Disaster Response Force also arrived at the spot to assist the DFS in the rescue operation as there was possibility that more people could be trapped under the rubble of the collapsed structure. The rescue operation is still underway.
In another incident, two people were injured after the wall of an Municipal Corporation school collapsed on them after a "big tree" got uprooted and fell on the school on Friday evening.
The injured were identified as Rajesh (25), a mason and Ashok Kumar Yadav (32), an auto driver. Sharing details, a senior Delhi Police officer said one old and big Neem tree got uprooted and fell on the MCD School wall during heavy rainfall at around 6 pm on Friday. "The uprooted tree along with the school wall fell on the riders of two motorcycles, who had parked under the tree to save themselves from rain," the officer said. Both riders sustained injuries and were taken to Rao Tula Ram Memorial Hospital by a PCR vehicle. Later, they were discharged after getting treated.
On Friday evening, the city received 41.9 mm of rainfall in three hours. For those returning from office, it was a harrowing time. The rains even continued to batter the city for the second consecutive day on Saturday, causing widespread waterlogging and traffic jams. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an orange alert for several areas, forecasting light to moderate rain, thunderstorms, and gusty winds (30-40 km/h).
Several roads like ring road, outer ring road were waterlogged prompting the traffic cops to issue advisories at regular intervals asking the commuter to avoid certain stretches. Notably, Delhi has been suffering with a severe waterlogging problem that follows even after a brief spell of rain. For the problem of waterlogging, much blame has been attributed to the failure of the city’s multiple civic bodies to desilt and repair the drainage system.