A 27-year-old software engineer drowned after his SUV went through a damaged boundary wall, plunging into a flooded pit dug for a commercial project in Sector 150 around Friday midnight, January 17.
The techie, identified as Yuvraj Mehta, did not know how to swim. He displayed a valiant effort to stay afloat, getting out of his Grand Vitara and climbing onto its roof. He repeatedly called his father, switching on his phone’s flashlight in the hope that rescuers would respond to his cries for help.
Mehta, who worked with a customer data science company, Dunnhumby India, in Gurgaon, was heading back home from work when the mishap occurred. Due to low visibility owing to the fog and lack of lights in the area, he negotiated a sharp turn near ATS
Le Gradiose as he couldn’t spot the danger ahead.
Since Yuvraj lives in the same sector, his father Raj Mehta and the police reached the spot within minutes after listening to his pleas. Due to the thick fog, they could not locate Yuvraj but could hear his voice.
Meanwhile, a passerby, Moninder, jumped into the chilling water to extend help to Yuvraj. He, too, was unable to spot him. “Yuvraj kept pleading for help,” he said, as quoted by Times of India.
Cops stood in silence
“He was screaming at the top of his voice for help while standing on the car roof. The cops who initially went to the spot said they could not swim. Cranes were called, but no one entered the water to save him”, said Yuvraj’s friend, Pankaj Tokas, as quoted by the outlet.
The police team that reached the site first called the fire department and teams from the Disaster Response Force, as his father stood there helplessly.
According to sources, as cited by the outlet, the SDRF team reached the spot first but lacked the necessary equipment to carry out the rescue.
A team from the NDRF was then called from Ghaziabad, which took another hour. By 1:45 A.M., Yuvraj’s cries for help had fallen silent. His body was eventually pulled out of the dig around 4:30 A.M., hours after his car had plunged into the drain.
Meanwhile, the body has been sent for a post-mortem, and a further inquiry into the matter is underway.
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