Ludhiana road cave-in: Woman, 2 students fall into 15-ft crater, rescued

The two students were rescued from the crater with the help of a ladder and rushed to the hospital where there condition is said to be stable; Ludhiana civic body officials are probing the road cave-in

In a shocking incident, two siblings, on their way to school on a two-wheeler, and a pedestrian found themselves falling down a 15-feet deep and as wide chasm, which abruptly opened as a major portion of the road in Deep Nagar caved in on Thursday.

CCTV footage of the incident, which has been widely circulated on social media, shows the road cave in took place just after a school bus crossed Deep Nagar area in Ludhiana around 8am. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)

It was a close shave for the pedestrian – a maid, who managed to pull herself out of the crater with the help of pipes – and the siblings whom locals rescued with the help of a ladder. The students, Mahi Malhotra, 16, and Kanav Malhotra, 11, were rushed to the hospital and are said to be in a stable condition. Their two-wheeler ( an Activa) was completely submerged in sewer water and was pulled out with the help of a JCB, seven hours after the mishap.

CCTV footage of the incident, which has been widely circulated on social media, shows that the road caved in just after a school bus crossed the area, near Dandi Swami Chowk, around 8am. The road collapsed so abruptly that the students who were at the brink of the chasm were caught unwares and were unable to save themselves, while the two-wheeler behind them was able to apply the brake in time.

Incidentally, the students are relatives of municipal corporation assistant town planner Satish Malhotra and the cave-in took place just 50m from the old residence of mayor Balkar Sandhu, who also arrived at the spot.

An eyewitness, Harinder Singh, said, “Fortunately, sewer water did not accumulate in the crater, otherwise the students could have drowned. I was around 40-50m away from the spot when I heard the students scream. Fortunately, a major tragedy was averted.”

Municipal corporation sub divisional officer Anshul Garcha said the civic body is investigating the matter and the cause for the road collapse is yet to be ascertained. “Underground wires could be seen. It is suspected that they may have damaged the sewer lines, resulting in leakage and soil erosion. We are repairing the road.”

The cave-in was reported in a congested area with a residential-cum-commercial building on one side of the damaged road portion. The building was vacant, while shops have been closed as residents fear that the foundation of the building may have been damaged.