Car plunges into open drain in Noida, none hurt

Car owner contacted his driver (Chauhan) and he explained that the incident occurred as he was returning home after dropping his sister and her kids at the Naya Gaon area at around 11.30 pm

Noida: A 30-year-old car driver escaped with minor injuries after losing control of his vehicle while trying to avoid a stray animal and plunged into a 10-feet-deep open drain due to low visibility in Noida Special Economic Zone (NSEZ) area late Tuesday night, police said on Wednesday.

The Maruti Suzuki Swift was retrieved using a hydraulic crane after hours of effort. Due to onlookers, traffic was briefly affected in the area around 8 am. (HT Photos)

“Around 7am, a police patrolling vehicle spotted that a car had plunged into an open drain close to NSEZ Gate number 2. There was no one inside the car,” said an officer, who rushed to the spot after receiving the information.

The Maruti Suzuki Swift was retrieved using a hydraulic crane after hours of effort. Due to onlookers, traffic was briefly affected in the area around 8 am.

The car is registered in the name of Rameshwaram Singh, a resident of Baghel who runs a transport business and has 10 cars in his fleet. “As always, around 6 am, when I was checking my vehicles’ Global Positioning System (GPS) locations, I found that one of the cars, being driven by driver Alok Chauhan, 30, a resident of Haldoni in Greater Noida, was disabled,” Singh told HT from Bihar.

“When I was about to contact Chauhan, an auto driver called to inform me that my car had plunged into the drain next to NSEZ. My mobile number was printed on my car,” he added.

Later, Singh contacted his driver (Chauhan), who explained that the incident occurred as he was returning home after dropping his sister and her kids at the Naya Gaon area at around 11.30 pm. “When I took a U-turn from NSEZ to return, an animal suddenly appeared in front of the vehicle. To save it, I turned the steering to the left, and due to dense fog could not see the drain and plunged into it.”

Chauhan sustained minor injuries to his legs and hands. But somehow managed to save himself and returned home. “His mobile phone was left inside the car, which is why he couldn’t contact anyone,” said Singh, who said to have suffered around ₹2 lakh loss in the incident.

Multiple videos of the incident also circulated widely on social media, showing hundreds of people gathered to see the scene. Police said it hasn’t registered any case and a further probe is on.

In another incident, a moving car caught fire near the Sector 37 underpass in Noida on Tuesday around 8 pm.

“There were three people in the car. When they were heading towards Sector 44 from the Atta side, the car caught fire. The occupants managed to save themselves and alert emergency services,” said a fire official, adding that the fire was doused within half-an-hour using fire tenders. No casualties were reported.