A man, who fell into a 40-feet deep borewell in Delhi's Keshopur area, was found dead by the rescuers, who dug a parallel hole on Sunday with the aim to save him.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (west) Vichitra Veer said that the person has been extracted from the borewell and unfortunately, he is dead.
"He appears to be of the age between 25-35 years. Efforts are being made to identify him," said the DCP.
"With deep sorrow, I am sharing the news that the man who fell into the borewell has been found dead by the rescue team. May God grant him a place at His divine feet," said Delhi Minister Atishi.
"According to initial information, the deceased person was around 30-years-old. The police will investigate how he entered the borewell chamber and fell inside. I express my gratitude to the NDRF team, who made every possible effort in the rescue operation for many hours," she wrote on X.
The borewell is located in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) area in Keshopur Mandi.
Delhi Fire Services Director Atul Garg said that initial message "was received at around 1 a.m. that a person had fallen in the water treatment plant following which teams along with five tenders were rushed to the spot which is DJB, Keshopur Mandi."
The DCP said that after receiving a police control room call at Vikaspuri police station, a police team rushed to the spot.
For over eight hours, the rescue team attempted various strategies to extract the person from the borewell without success. This morning, an NDRF team arrived and, following careful consideration, devised a plan to rescue the person by excavating a new borewell adjacent to the existing one. In the afternoon, the rescuers extracted the man, who was already dead.
Following the incident, Atishi had issued an order and directed the Chief Secretary to conduct a time-bound enquiry into the incident and take strong and exemplary action against any officers found responsible.
"A deeply unfortunate incident has taken place in Delhi today, where someone has fallen into an abandoned borewell in the Keshopur Sewerage Treatment Plant. While this borewell was on land that had been handed over to Delhi Metro in 2020, nonetheless it is our responsibility to examine if any lapses have taken place on the part of Delhi Jal Board, and to ensure that no such incident takes place in Delhi in the future," read the order.
"Chief Secretary is hereby directed to conduct a time-bound enquiry into the incident and take strong and exemplary action against any officers found responsible and ensure that all government and private abandoned borewells to be welded and sealed immediately," the order added.
However, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in a statement said that they did not build this borewell nor did they make any use of it.
"The pump room inside which this borewell was located belongs to the Delhi Jal Board. The borewell was already installed inside that pump room when DMRC took over the area around it for construction work," said DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal.
"However, as a humanitarian gesture, DMRC engineers are present at the site and are ready to extend all necessary cooperation. In fact, DMRC has already constructed an alternative road and guard rooms for Delhi Jal Board in that vicinity in the last few months," he added.
(With inputs from IANS)
