Noida: A 27-year-old software engineer drowned after his SUV went through a damaged boundary wall and plunged into a flooded pit dug for a commercial project in Sector 150 around Friday midnight. Yuvraj Mehta, who did not know how to swim, put up a valiant effort to stay afloat — getting out of his Grand Vitara and climbing onto its roof, calling his father and repeatedly flashing the phone's torch through fog, hoping that rescuers would hear his cries and spot him.
Mehta, who worked with customer data science company Dunnhumby India in Gurgaon, was on his way home when the accident happened as he negotiated a sharp turn near ATS Le Grandiose. Fog made visibility low and the lack of lights in the area or reflective boards at the construction site meant Yuvraj could not spot the danger ahead.
Since Yuvraj lives in the same sector, his father Raj Mehta and police reached the spot in minutes. In thick fog, they could not locate Yuvraj but could hear him. The first one to attempt a rescue was Moninder, a passerby who jumped into the freezing water to search for Yuvraj. He said he spent about 30 minutes in the water but could not locate him. "Yuvraj kept pleading for help," he said.
Yuvraj's friend Pankaj Tokas said, "He was screaming at the top of his voice for help while standing on the car roof. The cops who went initially said they could not swim. Cranes were called but no one entered the water to save him."
The police team that reached the spot first called the fire department and disaster response forces. "Initial rescue efforts were made with the help of local divers. Subsequently, SDRF and NDRF teams reached the spot," a police officer said.
According to sources, the SDRF team reached the spot first, but lacked the equipment to carry out the rescue in the 30ft deep pit. The NDRF was then called from Ghaziabad, which took another hour.
But the voice calling for help had fallen silent by 1.45am as his loved ones stood helplessly at the edge of the pit. When Yuvraj's body was eventually found, it was around 4.30am, four hours after his car fell into the drain. According to sources, Yuvraj gradually lost strength and drowned when the vehicle sank with nothing to prop himself up.
A senior official involved in the rescue said fog made the search almost blind. "We could only see a thin ray of light, likely from his phone," he added. Another official claimed rescue teams used torches and flashlights to locate him, but they could not see even 10 metres.
Raj Mehta, a retired SBI director, alleged the spot had long been a hazard and that repeated warnings to Noida Authority had gone unheeded. "Yes, visibility was extremely low due to fog. But had the boundary wall not been damaged, the car may not have plunged into the drain," he said.
Residents pointed out that a similar accident took place around 10 days ago when a truck driver hit the same drain wall, but he was "saved in the nick of time". "No repair work was done even after that. The Vitara ploughed through the same broken wall. The incident could have been avoided," a resident said.
"We have been asking for reflectors and a boundary wall as the turn is risky. However, nothing was done by Noida Authority. All they did was pile up debris on the road. Is this the solution?" Raj Mehra, a resident, asked.
Noida Authority's additional chief executive officer, Satish Pal, said the matter was being examined. "We are getting the incident checked by the senior manager. We will find out if the plot is allotted to someone or still under the Authority. We will also look into allegations of negligence," he added.
The plot, according to residents, was excavated nearly two years ago for a mall project, but has remained uncovered since then. Sewage water released from nearby societies has accumulated in it.
Yuvraj lived with his father in Tata Eureka Park in Sector 150. He had lost his mother two years ago and was the family's sole earning member. His elder sister is married and settled in the UK.