19-yr-old drowns in abandoned lake filled with rainwater
A 19-year-old teenager drowned in an abandoned boating lake in D-Park situated in Noida’s Sector 62 on Thursday afternoon. Eyewitnesses said that the teen had gone for taking a bath in the lake with one of his friends and accidentally entered into deep waters and drowned.
The boating lake, which generally has a shallow water level, was filled up to 12 feet of water on Thursday after a spell of heavy rainfall.
According to the police, the incident took place around Thursday noon, when the victim, Vishal, and his friend Aman had gone to the park to enjoy the downpour.
Vishal, police said, was a class 9 student and a resident of Khora colony opposite Noida’s Sector 58. His father works in a private firm in Noida.
Dilip Singh Bisht, station house officer of Sector 58 police station, said, “The lake was full of water due to a heavy downpour in the morning. The lake otherwise has a very shallow water level.”
Police said Vishal did not know swimming and had entered into the deeper part of the lake by mistake. “Vishal’s friend Aman called for help when he noticed him struggling to stay afloat. But the boy drowned before help arrived,” the police officer said.
“The security guard of the park rushed to the lake for help and fished Vishal out with the help of a few others. He was later rushed to a private hospital nearby. But the boy was declared dead by doctors,” Bisht said.
Vishal, police said, is a native of Benaras and lived here with his family in a rented accommodation. His parents did not want to register a case in the matter and did not want a post-mortem examination conducted on the body.
Following the incident, the security guards evacuated the park and locked its gates.
A Noida Authority official said, “We regularly carry out maintenance in the 16-acre park. But heavy rain on Thursday morning inundated the lake and most of the park. The boys were jumping in the lake without anticipating its depth.