At least four labourers died after a boundary wall collapsed on Tuesday of a prominent housing society – Jal Vayu Vihar – in Noida’s Sector 21, not too far from Delhi. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives and directed senior officials to conduct rescue operations on “war footing”.
“The Chief Minister has instructed senior officers to reach the spot immediately and conduct relief work on a war footing. He has expressed condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased and wished speedy recovery to the injured and directed them to make proper arrangements for their treatment,” his office said in a statement.
Noida district magistrate said that the labourers had been given a contract for drainage repair work near the residential township. “We’ve been told that when the labourers were pulling out bricks, the wall collapsed. It’ll be probed,” Suhas LY said. The injured are being treated at the district hospital and the Kailash Hospital nearby.
A total of 13 labourers were carrying out drainage repair work adjacent to the wall when it collapsed around 10:15am. They were hired by the Noida Authority and had nothing to do with the boundary wall, officials said. A video shared by news agency ANI showed relief operations being conducted on the accident site. A bulldozer was being used to clear out the debris of the boundary wall. Ambulances and fire fighting teams have been sent to the location for search operations.
“Unfortunately, four people died. nine people were shifted to hospital for better treatment. NDRF and Fire Brigade teams are conducting the last research mission. FIR will be lodged and action will be taken,” said Noida Police commissioner Alok Singh.