Daijiworld Media Network - Lucknow

Lucknow, Aug 6: Eight people, including four children, lost their lives in separate rain-related incidents in Uttar Pradesh, with six members of a family killed after a dilapidated house collapsed in Pratapgarh district and two children drowning in a rainwater-filled pit in Jaunpur.

In Pratapgarh, six members of a family, including two infants, died after an old house collapsed during heavy rainfall in Mahuli Bazaar during the early hours of Thursday.

The incident occurred around 2 am when seven family members were sleeping in a room of the dilapidated house located about 3 km from the district headquarters.

The deceased were identified as Pramod Srivastava (60), his wife Rita (55), their son Nitin (25), daughter-in-law Madhuri (24), and Madhuri's children Madhav (2) and 10-month-old Advik.
Pramod and Rita's elder son Aman (28) was the only survivor. He managed to crawl out of the debris and alerted neighbours, who rushed to the spot and informed the police.

Police and fire service personnel launched a rescue operation and pulled out those trapped under the rubble. The injured family members were taken to the Government Medical College, where six were declared dead. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further investigation is underway.

In another incident in Jaunpur district, two children drowned after falling into a rainwater-filled pit dug for the installation of a submersible pump.

The incident took place on Wednesday evening in Garopur village under the Barsathi area. According to officials, a borewell had been drilled on Tuesday by a local resident, but the pit left for the pump installation was not covered and later filled with rainwater.

The victims were identified as six-year-old Shivam Bind, son of Virendra Bind, and five-year-old Aarav Bind, son of Anil Bind. The children reportedly fell into the pit while playing nearby.

After the children failed to return home, family members and villagers searched for them and later found them inside the pit, located around 100 metres from their homes.

They were rushed to a healthcare facility at Katwar Bazaar and later referred to a hospital in Suriyawan, where doctors declared them dead.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Madiyahu) Naveen Kumar termed the incident unfortunate and ordered an inquiry. He said strict action would be taken against those found responsible and assured that the families would receive an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each under the state's natural disaster relief provisions.