In a devastating incident, three civil services aspirants lost their lives after the basement of their coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar, central Delhi, was inundated following heavy rains. The tragedy unfolded on Saturday evening, leaving the community in shock and mourning.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
I’m one of survivor of this horrible incident, within 10 min basement was filled it was 6.40 we called police and ndma’s but they reach after 9 PM till then my 3 #UPSCaspirants mates lost their lives 😭 3 are hospitalized pray for them🙏
who cares our life😭#RajenderNagar#upsc pic.twitter.com/hgogun1ehF— Hirdesh Chauhan🇮🇳 (@Hirdesh79842767) July 28, 2024
Eyewitness videos shared by residents show the severity of the flooding, with knee-deep water filling the streets and vehicles submerged. A UPSC aspirant, who survived the incident, posted harrowing footage on social media, depicting water gushing into the basement. The survivor criticized the delayed response from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the police, claiming they arrived hours after the initial distress call.
“I’m one survivor of this horrible incident; within 10 minutes, the basement was filled. It was 6:40 pm. We called the police and NDMA, but they arrived after 9 pm. Till then, my 3 UPSC aspirant mates lost their lives. Three are hospitalised, pray for them. Who cares about our lives?” read the caption accompanying the video shared on X (formerly Twitter).
In another post, the survivor expressed frustration over the delay in rescue efforts: “…and that was the last minute when we were trying to rescue our UPSC aspirant mates. Even the rescue team had arrived half an hour before they could have been saved. Now who’ll give justice to them? Who’ll return their lives to their families?”
According to the police, the incident began around 6:35 pm when rainwater rapidly flooded the basement. Emergency services were notified shortly after, and fire department officials arrived on the scene by 7:10 pm, immediately starting efforts to pump out the water. Due to the severe flooding, divers from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were called in to assist with the rescue operation.
Tragically, the bodies of two students were recovered late Saturday night, around 10:40 pm and 11:10 pm, respectively. The third body was found by the NDRF early Sunday morning, around 1 am.
This incident has raised serious questions about the safety measures in place at coaching centers and the efficiency of emergency response systems. The community mourns the loss of three promising lives, and calls for justice and improved safety regulations are growing louder.
The names of the deceased students have not been released yet, and an investigation is underway to determine the exact cause of the flooding and any lapses in safety protocols that may have contributed to this tragedy.