Delhi rain: One dead in Kalkaji tree fall

Officials said the tree was so large that the fire brigade had to saw through it for around half an hour to rescue the woman

NEW DELHI

The tree is estimated to be at least 50 years old. (Sanchit Khanna/HT)

A 50-year-old man died and his 22-year-old daughter was injured when a 50-70-year-old neem tree came crashing down on them during their commute on a motorcycle near Paras Chowk, in south Delhi’s Kalkaji, during a downpour on Thursday morning.

The deceased was identified as Sudhir Kumar, of Tughlakabad, and the injured was identified as Priya. Officials said the tree was so large that the fire brigade had to saw through it for around half an hour to rescue the woman. Even after rescuing the woman, it took officials over three more hours to clear the spot, according to locals.

Bhavik Garg, who runs a wholesale clothing shop near the spot, said two JCBs and one truck were present in the area. “The fire brigade arrived at around 10.30am. Due to the tree being extremely thick, it had to be cut before it could be picked up. The fire brigade was cutting through it using a saw, and by around 10.55am, they were able to cut through it enough to rescue the woman,” said Garg.

Police said the tree fell suddenly atop a car and the bike at 9.50am, trapping the commuters.

“A JCB was arranged on priority, and due to the collective and timely efforts of the police team, both injured individuals were safely extricated and shifted to Safdarjung Hospital through CATS ambulance for medical attention. Both of them are under treatment. Additionally, an i10 car parked in the vicinity sustained damage due to the fallen tree, but no one was injured in car,” deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Hemant Tiwari said.

Kumar’s family said the incident took place when he was dropping Priya off at her workplace.

“I called Priya around 12pm, but by then, she was already in the hospital. A nurse picked up the call, told me that an accident had occurred, and asked me to come there,” said Ajay Singh Raghav, Kumar’s nephew-in-law.

Raghav said that the family lives in Tughlakabad. Kumar, who worked as a caretaker in the Rain Basera homeless shelter near Turkman Gate, is survived by two children, an 18-year-old son and the injured daughter.

CCTV footage from the site showed that as the road was inundated, traffic moved slowly and caused the bike to stop under the tree right as it fell, crushing the rider. The tree was slanted and appeared to have fallen due to its weight. The tree also fell on two other cars, damaging the roof of one of them. But, there were no further fatalities or injuries.

“Everyone nearby - shopkeepers and passersby - rushed to help, and tried to move it. Despite this, the woman was trapped for almost an hour,” said Garg.

Forty-five-year-old Vaibha Gogia, who runs a hardware shop on the roadside, said: “The tree is really old, it has been there since my grandfather’s time. As soon as it fell on the two, we knew that the father was dead. The woman was in a bad condition, as the tree fell on her leg.”

The victims were taken to the Safdarjung trauma centre for treatment, where the man died. The woman suffered a fracture to the right pelvic region and is recovering, police said.