Seven feared dead during Durga idol immersions, 6 bodies recovered
NEW DELHI: At least seven people died due to drowning in two different parts of Delhi during Durga idol immersions on Saturday, fire department officials said.
While the bodies of six of the victims had been fished out, search operations continued late in Saturday night for locating one missing teenager.
The first of these deaths occurred on the banks of Yamuna in Chauhan Patti in northeast Delhi’s Sonia Vihar area around 11am. “My 13-yearold nephew, Himanshu, was with his friend as they accompanied a group of devotees who had gone to immerse an idol. They were swept away by the river suddenly. We think their feet slipped while they were playing along the river,” said Kiran, a resident of Sonia Vihar.
A search operation was launched by the divers and members of rescue teams that had been deployed at the spot to prevent such untoward instances. The two bodies were later fished out and sent for post-mortem.
The second accident took place when a group of teenagers had gone to the Yamuna near Palla village in outer Delhi’s Alipur area. Fire officers said six teenagers had entered the river for idol immersion. “They were all swept away by the strong current. Two of the teenagers later managed to swim to safety,” said a fire officer.
“This accident happened around 4.30pm. We have fished out three bodies and a search is on for the fourth missing youth. The dead boys all aged between 13 and 16 years,” said a police officer. He added that all the youths were residents of east Punjabi Bagh.
Authorities later said that the body of an unidentified girl was recovered from the water in Chauhan Patti around 7.30 pm, the same place where two youths had drowned earlier in the day.
On September 3, four youths had drowned in three different parts of the city during Ganesh idol immersions.