Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg said they received a call at 6.25 pm and sent four fire tenders to the spot. Four people were trapped after falling into sewer in Outer Delhi’s Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar on Tuesday afternoon. Until late night, rescue operations were underway to try and save the men. Police said three of the men were working to repair wires but accidentally fell into the sewer, and an auto-rickshaw driver who tried to get inside the sewer to save them was also trapped.
The three linemen were identified as Bacchu Singh, Pintu and Suraj Sahni, and the auto-rickshaw driver as Satish Singh(38). The linemen worked for a private contractor and were asked to fix telecom wires, officials said.
Brijendra Kumar Yadav, DCP (Outer North), said, “We received a call at 6.34 pm saying that three workers were at the sewer for MTNL wire work on Main Bawana road and had gone missing. The Station House Officer along with beat staff rushed to the spot and cordoned off the area. Delhi Fire Services and ambulances were called to the spot as well.”
Delhi Fire Service chief Atul Garg said they received a call at 6.25 pm and sent four fire tenders to the spot.
Between 16 and 20 firemen are undertaking rescue operations. An officer said, “We don’t know what their condition is. The sewer is deep and we are trying to locate them. There are many entangled wires in the sewer line.”
A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived for rescue operations, and around 11 pm, a rescuer attempted the first dive.
After discussing a strategy, officials made several knots in ropes to provide an effective hoisting movement for the NDRF diver.
Due to a lack of space for oxygen equipment and hoisting wire, excavators have been called to the spot to dig and widen the manhole in order to help with the rescue operations, police said.
Harinder Singh, an acquaintance of Satish Singh from Sardar Colony in Sector 16, said, “We came to know that our friend’s brother went inside the sewer line. He was on his rickshaw when he saw a crowd. When he came to know that some people are trapped, he immediately hoisted a rope to go inside and has been trapped since. He has three children.”
As the rescue operation began, electricity supply across the main Bawana road was shut down as a precaution. Officials said methane gas had built up and was detected by the rescue team.
A wooden mesh was visible a few feet away from the sewer hole, and it was estimated that the four people were below the wooden structure
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