Delhi storm tragedy: Tree crushes 4 of family
NEW DELHI, May 3 -- A ferocious thunderstorm that swept through Delhi early Friday morning left at least five people dead, with one family left entirely shattered - a woman and her three children, the youngest of whom was seven months old, were crushed when their single-room dwelling collapsed under fallen trees in Jafarpur Kalan, west Delhi.
In another tragedy, a 25-year-old construction worker was electrocuted in Green Park after he, in an attempt to take cover from the storm, accidentally touched an iron gate charged by a broken overhead wire.
Jyoti Devi, 28, and her children Aryan, 7, Rishabh, 5, and seven-month-old Priyansh were found dead under the debris of their collapsed home, said DCP (Dwarka) Ankit Singh.
Her husband, Ajay Kumar, sustained injuries but survived. The couple had moved into the makeshift brick-and-sand structure on a farm just weeks earlier, after returning from their village in Uttar Pradesh's Auraiya.
Police said their control room received a call at 5.26am regarding a collapse, and when rescuers reached the spot, they found that a tree had fallen over a room. Under the debris, police said, Devi and three kids were recovered unresponsive, but Kumar had survived and was briefly taken to a hospital.
Ajay, who had come to Delhi about 20 years ago, on Friday left for his native village with the bodies of his wife and children.
Chief minister Rekha Gupta expressed grief and announced an ex gratia of Rs.25 lakh to Ajay.
"The news of the death of four members of a family...in Kharkhadi Nahar village, Najafgarh is extremely distressing," she said.
In Green Park, Ankit Singh, a construction worker from Mainpuri, UP, was electrocuted at 4.30am as he attempted to take shelter from the storm. According to police, a low-tension overhead wire broke and electrified an iron gate at the under-construction site. As Singh tried to escape the storm, he grabbed the gate and was fatally shocked.
In a third incident in Chhawla, Dwarka, a wall collapsed, injuring Om Prakash, 41, his son Love, 13, and nephew Sonu, 15. All three were treated, officials said.
In a fourth incident in New Kondli, 17-year-old Khushbu Lal was injured when a cemented shed collapsed on her....
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