Heavy rain causes wall to collapse in Vasant Vihar, 2 minor boys killed: Cops

NEW DELHI: Two boys died after a wall collapsed on them in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Vihar area on Thursday evening, following heavy rains in the city, police said.

The wall collapse incident occurred around 4.40 pm near Hanuman Mandir in Basant Nagar, police said. Police said they received a call about the collapse and rushed to the spot along with a disaster management team.

A 10-year-old boy who hailed from Begusarai in Bihar, and a 9-year-old boy from Madhubani in Bihar were taken out from the debris and rushed to the AIIMS Trauma Centre in PCR vans. Doctors declared both of them brought dead, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said.

Initial inquiry revealed that the boys had been sitting on stairs adjacent to the wall when it suddenly gave way, the officer said. The wall belongs to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and is suspected to have weakened due to prolonged rain and waterlogging in the area, the DCP added.

Police said the debris were being cleared to ensure no one else is inconvenienced.

The DDA has been informed and a detailed inspection of the site will be carried out to assess the structural safety of nearby walls, they said.

The bodies have been preserved for post-mortem and further legal proceedings are in progress, they added.