Ghaziabad: One dead as SUV falls into Hindon canal, four rescued

Five men, aged 22-25 years, were travelling to Vasundhara when their car hit the canal’s protection wall and plunged into the deep waters, near Kanawani in Indirapuram.

Following a search for nearly two hours on late Saturday night, after an SUV plunged into the Hindon canal, local divers and police fished out the XUV 500 and a young man, who was declared dead at a hospital.

Officials suspect that the car was driven at around 80kmph and the driver probably lost control of the vehicle on the two-lane canal road. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Five men, aged 22-25 years, were travelling to Vasundhara when their car hit the canal’s protection wall and plunged into the deep waters, near Kanawani in Indirapuram.

The police and local divers rushed to help and rescued four persons — Ashutosh Gupta, Piyush, Dron Sharma and Divyansh, the driver of Mahindra XUV 500. The incident took place around 8pm when the five men were returning after having dinner.

“Bhupesh (the fifth person) went missing and could not be located for four hours amid the deep and toxic water in the canal. Around 10.30pm, he was traced and the local divers fished him out but he was declared brought dead. A team of National Disaster Response Force was also called for the rescue but the man was tracked before they arrived,” Anil Kumar Yadav, circle officer (Indirapuram), said.

The police said that no complaint was filed by the victim’s family in connection with the incident. Officials suspect that the SUV was driven at around 80kmph and the driver probably lost control of the vehicle on the two-lane canal road.

“The XUV 500 hit the wall and plunged into the canal. The doors were opened in the incident and four persons were rescued with the help of locals and the police. Bhupesh could not be located and he probably died after getting drowned in the toxic water,” Yadav said.

The car was pulled out of the water with the help of cranes deployed at the site of the incident. Teams from the fire department also arrived at the spot but failed to located Bhupesh for more than two hours.

The canal road from Vasundhara to NH-24 is an inspection road used by the irrigation department but has become a major link for commuters who wish to skip traffic on the internal roads of Indirapuram, Vasundhara and Vaishali.

Many accidents have been reported on the canal road, on which the traffic plies in both directions, due to speeding.