3-year-old boy falls into open storm water drain in Mumbai, feared drowned
| Date :12-Jul-2019 |
MUMBAI:
A THREE-year-old boy is feared to have drowned after falling into an open storm water drain at Ambedkar Chowk in Malad East Wednesday night, even as the search operation for the minor continued on Thursday. The incident took place around 10 pm on Wednesday. “The boy, identified as Divyansh, was strolling outside his house when he fell into the drain near Goregaon- Malad Link road,” an official of the Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. “When the boy’s mother could not find him, she raised an alarm.
Thereafter, the footage of the CCTV camera installed near the building was checked, in which he was seen falling into the drain,” he said. The incident brought back bitter memories of the August 2017 mishap in which Dr Deepak Amarapurkar, a well- known gastroenterologist, died after falling into an open manhole while walking down a flooded street in south Mumbai during torrential rain.
The NCP and the Congress lashed out at the Shiv Sena- ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and sought action against the civic officials concerned. Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, who visited the spot, said a probe will be launched to find the reason behind this mishap and action will be taken against the officials responsible for it.
After the incident came to light, a search and rescue operation was launched. However, the rescue team has not been able to find the boy so far. Due to the heavy flow of water in the drainage, the boy is feared to have been washed away, the official said. The search operation is being jointly carried out by the BMC staff, Mumbai police, the fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The civic body claimed that the cover of the drain was removed by some individuals.