Two children drown in rainwater-filled pit at Narela DDA plot

Two schoolboys drowned in a rainwater-filled pit at a vacant Delhi Development Authority plot in Narela on Thursday afternoon, police said.

The children, aged 9 and 11, lived in Bawana and had gone to the plot near DDA flats on 100 Foota Road after school. Police said they entered the pit to swim at around 1pm. Other children spotted them and alerted local residents, who pulled them out and took them to Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital. They were declared dead on arrival.

The pit was about five to seven feet deep and had recently filled with rainwater, police said. Police have initiated an enquiry and legal proceedings.

The DDA said the vacant plot had a boundary wall, but sections had repeatedly been damaged despite repairs. It said it was considering stronger boundary protection and increased surveillance of vulnerable vacant plots in the area. Residents told police that children often visit the site after school to play and swim.