Six-year-old boy dies after falling into water-filled pit in Noida, contractor arrested
PTC News Desk: A six-year-old boy died after falling into a water-filled pit dug for boring work in a residential colony in Greater Noida, police said on Sunday.
The incident happened on Saturday evening in Kaladham Colony. According to police, the child was playing with other children near the pit at around 7 pm when he accidentally fell into it.
Family members pulled the boy out and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead on arrival.
Police completed the inquest and sent the body for a postmortem examination.
Following a complaint by the boy's family, police registered a case and began an investigation. The contractor responsible for the boring work was arrested on Sunday in connection with the incident, police said.
According to local residents, the pit had been dug several days earlier for boring work by the Greater Noida Authority. Recent rainfall filled it with water, but no barricades or warning signs were placed around the site, making it dangerous.
Children playing nearby raised an alarm after the six-year-old fell into the pit. Residents rushed to the spot, pulled him out after a rescue effort, and took him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
The incident has triggered outrage among locals, who blamed the Greater Noida Authority and the contractor for negligence. They alleged that despite repeated warnings about open excavation sites, basic safety measures were ignored, turning the pit into a deadly hazard.
Residents also questioned why safety rules were not followed despite earlier fatal accidents involving open pits in Greater Noida. They demanded that all excavation sites be properly barricaded and that officials and contractors responsible for public safety be held accountable.
The tragedy has once again raised concerns about safety lapses. It comes just six months after Noida techie Yuvraj Mehta lost his life after falling into an open pit while returning home from work in Greater Noida, in a similar incident.
- With inputs from agencies
