Noida: Houses partially collapse in rain, kill 4

GREATER NOIDA/NOIDA: Heavy downpours in the city have claimed the lives of at least four people, including three children, and injured 13 people as parts of buildings collapsed in two areas of Noida and Greater Noida.
In Dubli village in Rabupura, a family was fast asleep on first floor of their house when the ceiling came crashing on them around 9.30pm on Monday. Two children, Prachi (9) and Sonia (11), who were sleeping on the same bed, were crushed under iron beams and chunks from the ceiling. They died on the spot.
The other 10 members, including 65-year-old farmer Rishipal and three children, were severely injured.
“Suddenly, my bed overturned and I was tossed on the floor. I managed to pull two of my children from underneath the debris. We are shocked,” Rishipal’s son told TOI.
Due to the heavy rainfall, a wall of the recently-constructed second floor collapsed, bringing the ceiling of the first floor down with it. According to the villagers, it had been raining since 3pm on Monday.
Around 300 villagers gathered to try and help the family. “We had to cut some of the heavy iron beams as they had got stuck in the ground,” said one of them.
Since there was no response on the ambulance helpline number, the victims had to be taken to hospital in private vehicles.
Doctors at Government Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), where most of the injured are being treated, told TOI that one of them has a hand fracture while two others have suffered injuries to their head and spinal cord.
Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh, who met the grieving family on Tuesday, told TOI that he has asked administration officials to prepare the relevant documents of the deceased and injured so that a recommendation can be sent for suitable compensation under the disaster relief fund of the UP government.
Collapse in Sirsa village
The nightmare was repeated in Sirsa village of Greater Noida, where two people — Vishwakarma (7) and 22-year-old Vinod — died and a 50-year-old woman was severely injured when a part of a vacant house collapsed on them.
The incident happened around 11am on Tuesday when the victims were standing near the wall to protect themselves from the rainfall, police said. While Vishwakarma and Vinod were declared dead on arrival at Yatharth Hospital, the woman has been admitted to Sahdeo Hospital where her condition remains serious.
Meanwhile, in Chhijarsi village in Sector 63, a cow died and 12 animals were injured after the ceiling of a verandah crashed on them. The house, belonging to Jai Bhagwan, a dairy owner, was damaged due to heavy rains since Monday afternoon, according to Phase 3 SHO Devendra Singh.
Noida-Greater Noida received 27 mm of rainfall on Tuesday. Light rains have been predicted in some parts on Wednesday.