Two UPSC aspirants dead after flooding in Delhi coaching centre basement
New Delhi: Two female UPSC aspirants died while a few others were trapped for several hours after water suddenly entered the basement of a coaching centre in West Delhi’s Rajendra Nagar on Saturday, officials said.
The Delhi Fire Services (DFS) reportedly received a call about waterlogging from the Rau’s IAS Study Centre at around 7 p.m. on Saturday, after which five fire engines were dispatched to assist in rescue operations.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force are also at the spot.
According to officials, the bodies of two female students have been recovered so far and the rescue operation is on.
The incident comes days after a UPSC aspirant was electrocuted while trying to cross a waterlogged street in Patel Nagar, which is also in West Delhi.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Delhi) M. Harsha Vardhan said that the area around the coaching centre got waterlogged because of heavy rain on Saturday evening.
“Rescue operations are going on and we are facing some difficulties. It is taking time for the water to drain out. The team is trying its best. A female student’s body has been found so far,” he said.
In a post on social media platform X, Delhi Public Works Department Minister Atishi said: “There is news of an accident due to heavy rain in Delhi in the evening. There is news of water flooding the basement of a coaching institute in Rajendra Nagar. The Delhi Fire Department and NDRF are at the spot. The Delhi Mayor and local MLA are also there. I am taking updates of the incident every minute.”
“Orders have been given for a magisterial inquiry into how this incident happened. Whoever is responsible for this incident will not be spared,” Atishi said in the post.