Delivery man braved freezing waters in desperate attempt to save Noida techie, narrates what happened

A 27-year-old techie’s 90-minute-long futile wait for help before he died after his car plunged into a 70-foot water-filled ditch near Sector 150 in Greater Noida has raised questions about the administration’s preparedness. A delivery agent who reached the accident site to help Yuvraj Mehta said that he himself jumped into the pit in a desperate attempt when he saw the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams struggling.

Moninder, the delivery agent, alleged that the rescue members were reluctant to enter the ditch at first due to the freezing water, exposed iron rods, and poor visibility caused by dense fog. He said that he arrived at the site around 1.45 am on Saturday. He told reporters, “I tied a rope around my waist and went into the water myself. I searched for the youth and his car for around 30 minutes.”

He further claimed that he was told later that the software engineer could have been rescued “if help had reached 10 minutes earlier.” He added that Mehta was initially spotted standing on the drowning car’s roof. He even used his phone’s flashlight to signal and plead to passers-by for help.

Moninder told the media that another accident had occurred previously in the same ditch, prompting locals to step in and rescue a truck driver with ropes and a ladder. Police dismissed claims of negligence, he added.

ACP Rajeev Narayan Mishra, however, said that the police and fire teams had deployed a crane at the accident site, along with a ladder, searchlights, and a makeshift boat to save the techie, but visibility was nearly zero due to dense fog. Yuvraj’s car was later pulled out after five hours, but he had already died by that time.

The father of a 27-year-old techie recalled his son’s heartbreaking last call. Speaking to CNN News18, the techie’s father, Rajkumar Mehta, blamed authorities for what he described as a failure of infrastructure and emergency readiness, stating that the incident could have been avoided. He added that his son desperately pleaded to save him, but no proper equipment or trained personnel were available at the site.

ALSO READ: ‘Dad, I’m drowning, please save me’ – Noida techie’s father recalls son’s heartbreaking last call moments before he dies