A 23-year-old Amity University student, who was reportedly celebrating the conclusion of his exams with three friends, tragically drowned in a water-filled construction pit adjacent to the university’s Noida campus on Wednesday afternoon.
This incident took place in Sector 94, near the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, just a few months after another drowning incident involving a software engineer whose car fell into a similar construction pit in Sector 150.
The university confirmed the identity of the deceased as Harshit Bhatt. According to police reports, the other three friends who attempted to rescue him were safely retrieved from the water.
“Harshit Bhatt was in his final year at the Amity School of Physical Education. He had completed his exam earlier that afternoon and left campus shortly thereafter. We were notified by the police regarding his tragic passing,” stated Savita Dubey, the university’s Vice President of Communications.
The university expressed its condolences and affirmed its full cooperation with the authorities during the investigation.
Authorities indicated that the incident occurred around 3:15 PM when the students were near a pit that resembled a small lake. Noida DCP Saad Miya Khan mentioned that police were dispatched to the scene upon receiving reports of a potential drowning.
Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the Fire Department were also sent to assist. “While three of the students were saved, one unfortunately drowned,” Khan noted. The deceased’s body has been sent for autopsy, and police are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the drowning, including the depth and condition of the pit.
In a similar case earlier this year, a 27-year-old man named Yuvraj Mehta drowned after his vehicle fell into a construction pit in Sector 150 while he was driving home in heavy fog. He was reportedly trapped for two hours, calling for help as rescue efforts struggled without the necessary equipment.
A 35-year-old individual, Saroj Kashyap, recounted that the four students had likely accessed the partially enclosed construction site after parking their motorcycles nearby. He noted that one of the students entered the water, prompting the others to follow.
“Around 3:30 or 3:45 PM, one of them came running, crying and seeking assistance,” Kashyap, who operates an ambulance, said. He and an e-rickshaw driver, Harsh, entered the water in an attempt to locate Harshit, but initially were unsuccessful.
After approximately ten minutes, police arrived, and Kashyap re-entered the water, this time secured with a rope. “I located him deep within the pit, where his leg was caught in long grass and his hand was trapped between iron bars. I managed to free him and bring him to the surface,” he recounted.
Kashyap added that the recovery took about an hour and a half due to the water’s depth and the presence of vegetation.
Chaman Singh, a 40-year-old ragpicker, stated that the pit had been abandoned for nearly a decade and also witnessed the students’ frantic cries for help. He attempted to assist but could not find Harshit, noting the water’s considerable depth and previous incidents involving drowning animals.
Harsh, the e-rickshaw driver, observed that the boys who approached him were wet and explained that someone had drowned. He waded into the water but soon found himself unable to search effectively.
