Death toll in rain-linked incidents in Delhi rises to 11 in monsoon-hit Capital

The number of those who died in rain-related incidents in the Capital rose to 11 on Saturday, including three labourers whose bodies were pulled out from the debris of a wall that had collapsed at a construction site in Vasant Vihar.

According to officials, four deaths due to drowning were also reported from parts of the city.

The city had witnessed an unprecedented rainfall on Friday, the highest recorded in a span of 24 hours in June since 1936.

A Delhi Fire Services (DFS) official said those who died in the Vasant Vihar wall collapse were identified as Santosh Kumar Yadav, 19, Santosh Kumar, 20, and Dayaram, 45.

Five dead as heavy rains pound Delhi as Monsoon lands; waterlogging, traffic snarls add to chaos

The official said cranes were used to clear the debris and water was pumped out of a foundation pit to recover the bodies. The bodies were taken to Safdarjung Hospital.

A search operation was also conducted by teams of the National Disaster Response Force, Delhi Disaster Management Authority and civic agencies to ensure that no one else was trapped under the rubble.

Meanwhile, another official said among those who drowned was a 60-year-old resident of Badarpur. He drowned in a pool of water and the body was recovered from under the Okhla underpass.

Two young boys were also found drowned in a similar way in Samaypur Badli near the Siraspur underpass, the police said. A senior police official said the boys seemed to have fallen into a pool of rainwater while taking a bath.

“We are checking all angles, including the electrocution angle. However, only a post-mortem could reveal the cause of the deaths,” he said.

The fourth drowning incident was reported from Mahender Park near the Shalimar Bagh underpass, where a man was found dead.

Meanwhile, the police registered a case against unknown people under IPC Section 304A (death caused by negligence) over the death of a man who was electrocuted in Rohini’s Prem Nagar.

Rajesh, 39, a resident of Shishmahal Enclave, was shifted to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

A friend of the deceased, Sandeep Kumar, said he had left for work at a factory in Bawana and since it was raining heavily, the roads were inundated.

“There are many shops covered with tin sheds. While walking in water, he tried to balance himself and held a pole connected to a bulb, leading to his death” he said.