In a horrific incident of water logging, three students preparing for civil service exams at a coaching center here in Delhi, lost their lives on Saturday, after heavy rains flooded the basement of their coaching institute. The incident comes days after a UPSC aspirant was electrocuted on a waterlogged Delhi street.
The students were attending the Rao IAS Coaching Institute when the incident occurred. The Delhi Fire Service, National Disaster Response Force, and the Delhi Police conducted a search and rescue operation to recover the body of one of the victims, who was previously reported missing.
“Basement of a coaching institute in the national capital filled with water. NDRF teams are at the spot,” Delhi Police said.
The incident caused a certain section of students to protest against the unfavorable conditions that led to the death of the students after the basement of a building housing a coaching center was flooded in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area.
#WATCH | Delhi: Students continue to protest outside the coaching institute where three students lost their lives after the basement of the institute was filled with water yesterday pic.twitter.com/8JGEZ9Rl7o
— ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2024
A distress call was made to the fire department at around 7 pm after efforts to contact the missing students through their mobile phones failed. Authorities searched the basement of the coaching centers to locate the missing students.
Delhi BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj and MCD Mayor Shelly Oberoi reached the site to inspect the rescue operations. Eye witnesses also called out the MCD for their ignorance and irresponsibility. A student said that the MCD has failed t take any action despite several complains. The water logging issue is critical as only 10 minutes of rains can create such havoc…
#WATCH | Old Rajender Nagar incident | Delhi: "80% of libraries here are in basements. Water gets logged here in 10 minutes of rainfall. MCD has not taken action on this…" says a student who was protesting against the MCD after water filled in a basement of a coaching institute… pic.twitter.com/bYfAAMC4ux
— ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2024
Sources said that a rescue operation was launched in Old Rajender Nagar, Delhi, after reports of children being trapped in a waterlogged basement at 11-B, Bada Bazaar Marg, near Rao IAS Study Centre.
The basement was heavily flooded and had very poor visibility, making the search efforts challenging for the divers.
The fire department deployed four motor pumps to extract the water.
A total of five fire tenders reached the site to assist in the rescue operation. Officials said that the water logging would be cleared in the next few hours.
Reacting to the incident, Delhi Education Minister Atishi said that the mishap happened due to heavy rain in Delhi in the evening. Atishi also ordered a magisterial level inquiry into the matter.
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