Daijiworld Media Network – Greater Noida

Greater Noida, Jan 18: A 27-year-old software engineer lost his life after his speeding car plunged into a water-filled basement near Sector-150 here late on Friday night, triggering a prolonged rescue operation that lasted over four hours amid dense fog and poor visibility.

The victim, identified as Yuvraj Mehta, a resident of Tata Eureka Park Society in Sector-150, was returning home from his office in Gurugram when the incident occurred. Police said the car went out of control due to heavy fog, rammed into the wall of a deep drain and fell into a basement filled with water, nearly 30 feet deep.

Yuvraj, who worked with Dunnhumby India and occasionally commuted to office while largely working from home, managed to come out of the overturned vehicle and alerted his father, Rajkumar Mehta, over the phone. His father immediately informed Dial-112 and rushed to the spot.

Teams from the Knowledge Park police station, fire brigade, SDRF and later NDRF launched rescue operations using cranes and other equipment. During the ordeal, Yuvraj was seen standing intermittently on top of the car, switching on his torch and shouting for help. However, darkness, dense fog and extremely cold water hampered rescue efforts, while officials refrained from entering the water due to safety risks posed by under-construction columns inside the basement.

At around 1.45 am, Yuvraj and the vehicle submerged completely. The NDRF team from Ghaziabad eventually retrieved him after a two-and-a-half-hour operation. He was rushed to Kailash Hospital in Knowledge Park, where doctors declared him dead.

The victim’s family alleged delay and lack of preparedness during the rescue. In his complaint, Rajkumar Mehta accused the Noida Authority of negligence, stating that the drain lacked barricading, reflectors and warning signboards despite repeated demands by residents. He sought strict action against officials to prevent similar incidents in future.

Police said a probe is underway. “Prima facie, the accident appears to have been caused by high speed and poor visibility due to fog. The complaint submitted by the deceased’s father is being investigated,” said Sarvesh Singh, Station House Officer, Knowledge Park police station.