Wall collapse: Three bodies found, rain fury toll now 11

New Delhi, June 29

The bodies of three labourers were recovered from the rubble of a collapsed wall at a construction site in Vasant Vihar here amid heavy rain on Saturday. It raised the death toll from rain-related events in Delhi to 11. The under-construction wall collapse was reported to the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) around 5.30 am on Friday.

Two of the three were identified as Santosh Kumar Yadav (19) and Santosh Kumar (20). The third labourer was identified as Dayaram (45), who used to work at the site with his wife, officials said.

Cranes were used to clear the debris and water was pumped out of the foundation pit to recover the bodies. The bodies were taken to Safdarjung Hospital, they said.

A search operation was later conducted to ensure no one else was trapped under the rubble. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force, Delhi Disaster Management Authority and civic agencies have carried out the operation, the officials said.

Santosh Kumar was the only son of his parents in Bihar’s Supaul. Kumar’s kin Satyawan said Santosh had come to Delhi four years ago in search of work.

“He would work on construction sites and send money to his parents in Bihar. The family is very poor,” Satyawan said. He had joined the work here at this site two weeks ago, he added.

Another Santosh, who also hails from Supaul, is survived by his two brothers and parents. His two brothers work in another construction site in Delhi, Satywan said.

Dayaram was a native of Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi. His two sons live with their family in UP, he added.

A case under Sections 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC was registered.

A police officer said the basement was constructed to build a house on the plot. The contractor and the owner of the plot have been questioned and the probe was underway.

2 drown at underpass

New Delhi: Two boys drowned in the waterlogged section at an underpass in outer north Delhi’s SP Badali area on Saturday afternoon. The incident occurred near the Siraspur underpass near the Metro track, which was flooded with 2.5-3 ft water, a senior police officer said. One of the boys is a resident of Siraspur, while the identity of the other is yet to be ascertained, he said. Prima facie, it appeared to be a case of suspected drowning while the boys were taking a bath, another officer said. PTI

Heavy rain likely in city over next few days

• Delhi is likely to receive heavy rainfall for the next three days as the weather office issued an “orange” alert in the Capital on Saturday, the weather office said. Parts of Delhi, including Rohini and Burari, received rains on Saturday morning. According to the Met department, 8.9 mm of rainfall was recorded at Safdarjung and 12.6 mm at Lodhi Road between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm on Saturday.
• The maximum temperature recorded on Saturday was 35.6°C, which is 1.6 notches below normal, according to the IMD. The city recorded a minimum temperature of 28°C.