New Delhi: Three boys drowned in a ditch at a metro construction site while taking a bath in floodwaters in northwest Delhi’s Mukundpur Chowk area Friday, officials said.
The boys — Nikhil (10), Piyush (13) and Ashish (13) — were residents of northeast Delhi’s Jahangirpuri, they said.
The fire department said a fire tender was rushed to the spot after information about the incident was received at 2:25 pm.
Delhi Fire Services Director Atul Garg said, “Three children drowned in a ditch at a metro construction site. They were pulled out and rushed to Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead.”
These are the first deaths to be reported in the Delhi floods.
Parts of Delhi have been inundated after the Yamuna breached its banks following days of heavy rains in the city and the upper catchment areas, prompting the evacuation of thousands from low-lying areas.
The Yamuna in Delhi swelled to 207.71 metres Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set in 1978.
The water level had started rising Thrusday after remaining stable for three hours and reached 208.66 metres by 7pm, three metres above the danger mark of 205.33 metres.
The water levels started receding Friday and had come down to 208.17 metres at 6 pm, according to the Central Water Commission.
PTI