A tragic accident in Noida’s Sector 150 claimed the life of a 27-year-old software engineer after his car plunged into a water-filled basement of an under-construction building during the early hours of Sunday.

Car plunges into drain amid fog

The deceased, Yuvraj Mehta, worked as a software engineer in Gurugram and lived with his father in a high-rise apartment in Sector 150. Police said he was driving his Grand Vitara when he lost control while negotiating a turn on a fog-hit road. The vehicle broke through the boundary wall of a roadside drain and fell into a waterlogged basement at a construction site.

Desperate call to father

After realising he was trapped inside the submerged car, Yuvraj managed to call his father, Raj Kumar Mehta, seeking urgent help. “My son himself called me and said the car had fallen into the drain,” his father said, recalling the harrowing moments. Eyewitnesses claimed Yuvraj remained trapped for nearly two hours, repeatedly pleading for help as the water level remained dangerously high.

Rescue efforts questioned

Police and emergency teams reached the spot, but the rescue operation faced delays. According to the family, rescuers initially lacked a trained swimmer, significantly hampering efforts to reach the victim in time. Fire services, police, and later disaster response teams were involved, but Yuvraj could not be saved.

Chief fire officer Pradeep Kumar Chaubey said rescue teams remained at the site until around 5 am. A friend of the victim alleged that while teams arrived by 2.30 am, they were unable to enter the water until nearly an hour later.

Negligence allegations

Preliminary investigation cited low visibility and speeding as contributing factors. Assistant Commissioner of Police Hemant Upadhyay said the drain was six to seven feet wide and poorly visible at night. Yuvraj’s father has filed a complaint accusing authorities of negligence, alleging repeated requests by residents for barricades and reflectors near the drain were ignored.

Police said further investigation is underway to fix responsibility.