Houses collapse in Delhi slum as drain overflows after heavy rains

At least two houses collapsed in Delhi as heavy rains lashed the national capital on Sunday (July 19) morning. Besides, a 56-year-old man died allegedly due to drowning following the heavy downpour in the city.

In a slum in Anna Nagar near the ITO area, a house toppled after a canal running through the locality overflowed, NDTV said. The building was empty when the incident occurred. Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) and fire engines are present at the spot.

Water from the overflowing sewage drain could be seen in social media visuals, gushing into the basement of an under-construction building. In the background, loud screams of people were heard. “Vacate the house,” screamed someone.

The report said that in another visual, a house at the edge of a sewage drain was also seen crumbling following the heavy downpour.

Earlier in the day, a man, identified as Kundan Kumar, died due to drowning after his mini-truck was submerged under the Minto Bridge in central Delhi, following a heavy downpour. He was driving a Tata Ace from the New Delhi Railway Station to Connaught Place when he got stuck in the waterlogged area, police said.

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His body has been shifted to a mortuary at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital wherein it will be handed over to his family after a post-mortem. Police said they suspected that he died due to drowning since no external injury marks were found on his body.

The national capital received its first spell of heavy rains, which led to waterlogging in low-lying areas and brought traffic to a standstill at key stretches in the city. The Minto Road underpass also witnessed heavy waterlogging, following overnight heavy rains.

Meanwhile, a DTC bus and two auto-rickshaws were stuck at the Minto Bridge underpass due to waterlogging, following which three people were rescued, Delhi Fire Service officials said.

(With inputs from agencies)