The father of a software engineer who drowned after his car plunged into a water-filled construction pit in Noida has alleged grave lapses by authorities, saying his son struggled for nearly two hours before succumbing, with no adequate rescue support available at the site.
Yuvraj Mehta, a tech professional working in Gurugram, lost control of his vehicle late Friday night amid dense fog and poor visibility. The car veered off the road near a turn in Noida’s Sector 150 and crashed into an uncovered, waterlogged pit estimated to be about 70 feet deep. According to the family, the stretch lacked barricades, warning signs, reflectors and proper lighting.
Rajkumar Mehta, Yuvraj’s father, said he received a distress call from his son shortly after the accident. He rushed to the spot along with local residents and emergency teams, but found the response grossly inadequate. “My son was crying for help. He was alive and struggling for nearly two hours. People gathered, some even made videos, but there were no divers or proper equipment to rescue him,” he said, alleging administrative negligence.
Witnesses and family members said Yuvraj managed to climb onto the roof of his sinking car and remained there from around midnight till 2 am, using his phone’s flashlight to signal his location in the fog and repeatedly calling for help. A delivery agent, Moninder, eventually attempted a risky rescue by tying a rope around himself and entering the pit, but the effort came too late.
The car and Yuvraj’s body were finally retrieved after nearly five hours of rescue operations. Yuvraj, originally from Sitamarhi in Bihar, had lost his mother two years ago, and his sister lives in the UK.
Following the incident, the family lodged a complaint accusing authorities of failing to secure the construction site and maintain basic road safety measures. In response, the Noida Authority terminated a junior engineer and issued show-cause notices to other officials linked to traffic and maintenance works in the area. Officials have said an inquiry is underway to determine responsibility, noting that the road passes through a sector still under development.
The family has demanded strict action against those responsible and systemic changes to prevent similar tragedies, saying no one else should have to fight for life due to avoidable lapses in public safety.
