A four-year-old boy fell into an uncovered manhole near Dass Garden Colony in Delhi’s Nangli Vihar area on November 11, prompting a multi-agency rescue operation involving the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Delhi Fire Services, Delhi Police, Delhi Disaster Management Authority and the Border Security Force.
The child fell into the sewer while playing in the area, according to fire officials. The Delhi Fire Service received a call at 9:45 am and deployed a team to the site. The rescue operation was underway when the incident was reported, but rescuers had not located the boy at that stage.
“We received a call at 9:45. The Delhi Fire Service team was deployed here. A 4-year-old boy was playing here with his mother when he fell into the sewer through an open manhole. The rescue operation is underway, but we have not found him yet,” a fire official told news agency ANI.
The child’s father, Khursheed Alam, identified him as Imraan and said he had gone to a park to play before approaching the open sewer to relieve himself. “My son’s name is Imraan. He had come to the park to play and went near the sewer to relieve himself. The sewer was open, and he fell inside. The rescue operation is underway,” Alam told ANI.
Specialised rescue teams were searching the sewer line with suction pumps and scanning equipment. The deployment of multiple agencies reflects the difficulty of locating and reaching a person inside an active sewer network, where access points, underground connections and water flow can complicate rescue work.
Sub-divisional magistrate Rajat Malhotra said the administration responded immediately after receiving the call. “The NDRF team and the entire administration are working to rescue the child. The rescue operation has been underway since we received the call, and the administration is making every effort. The NDRF is with us, and we will share any further information we receive with you,” Malhotra told ANI.
The operation remained ongoing, with officials awaiting further information from the teams searching the sewer system. The incident has also brought renewed attention to the immediate danger posed by uncovered manholes in residential neighbourhoods and near public spaces, particularly for children and pedestrians.
