Boy drowns in flooded cellar of an under-construction building

A food delivery executive and three others rescue a second boy who had jumped in to save his friend

The flooded construction site at HBR Layout 2nd Stage near the BDA Complex, whe the boy lost his life on Tuesday.

Heavy rains and lack of basic safety precautions have claimed yet another life, this time at a construction site in HBR Layout 2nd stage near the BDA Complex. A 14-year-old boy who was playing with his friends drowned when he slipped and fell into a flooded cellar of an under-construction building on Tuesday afternoon. “The cellar which had a sump was filled with rainwater up to 10 ft,” said a police officer.

His friend who jumped into the cellar to try to save him almost drowned but was rescued by a food delivery partner and three other adults in the area who heard the children crying for help.

The deceased teenager, Chandru, had lost his mother to COVID-19 during the first wave, and lived with his father, a labourer from Tamil Nadu, in K.G Halli along with other family members.

Chandru and five of his friends who resided in the area were playing football near the construction site early Tuesday evening, around 3.30 p.m. While they were playing, the ball rolled into the cellar, and Chandru ran to pick it up.

According to the K.G. Halli police, the site was filled with water due to heavy rains. The building owner had not put in place any safety measures to secure the area, said a police officer.

While retrieving the ball, Chandru slipped and fell into the flooded cellar. His friend, Vimal, 13, realised that he couldn’t swim and jumped in to rescue him. But he did not surface either. In panic, the four remaining children started shouting for help. Passers-by immediately ran to the site. “While they were able to rescue Vimal who was clinging to a pole, they could not find Chandru. His body was recovered later,” said a police officer.

Adam Pasha, a food delivery boy who witnessed the incident said, “Four boys were screaming for help. I ran towards them along with three other people to see what had happened. I tied a rope around my waist and got down in knee-deep water to pull one of them out. We rescued the boy who was clinging to a pillar, and alerted the Fire and Emergency Services personnel and the police.,” said Mr. Pasha.

K.G. Halli police have taken up a case of death due to negligence against building owner Firoz Ahmed.