2 women killed, 11 people injured as water tank collapses in UP's Mathura

MATHURA: Two women died and 11 people were injured after being buried under the debris of an overhead water tank that collapsed in a densely populated area of Mathura district on Sunday, officials said.

One of the injured, identified as Nawab (35), has been sent to SN Medical College and Hospital in Agra as his condition was serious, they said.

The incident took place at around 6 pm in Krishna Vihar Colony developed by the Uttar Pradesh Awas Vikas Parishad.

District Magistrate Shailendra Kumar Singh said the other injured people, including five women, were taken to the district hospital for treatment.

Apart from the fire service and police personnel, teams of revenue, municipal corporation, and health department are engaged in the rescue work, the DM said, adding that teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are also called.

Dr Bhudev Prasad, in-charge of the Rapid Response Team of the Health Department, said that two women died on the way to the hospital. The deceased have been identified as Sundari (65) and Sarita (27).

The injured include Saraswati (45), Baby (52), Kamlesh (65), Nikunja (22), Mili (18), Prince (6), Gaurishankar (84), Mahavir (50), Vipindra (34), and Ramesh Chand (66).

All of them are in stable condition, Prasad said.

Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Yogendra Pandey earlier confirmed that two persons died after the 2.5 lakh litre tank collapsed.

He said that the work of removing the debris is still going on and several people are still likely to be trapped under it.

The DM said the construction of the water tank was completed in 2021 and its collapse in just three years will be investigated.

He also said the tank was built by the Jal Nigam at a cost of Rs 6 crore under the Gangajal Drinking Water Project.