NOIDA: Trapped inside a flooded excavation on a foggy winter night, 27-year-old software engineer Yuvraj Mehta struggled for nearly 90 minutes to survive. He climbed onto the roof of his sinking SUV, called his father, shared his live location, and repeatedly flashed his phone torch through the dense mist in a desperate attempt to attract attention.
People standing near the edge of the pit could hear his cries, but in the near-zero visibility they could make out only “a thin ray of light” before his voice eventually faded.
The tragedy unfolded around 12.30am in Sector 150 when Mehta was driving home. His Grand Vitara broke through a damaged boundary wall and plunged into a waterlogged pit dug for a commercial project near ATS Le Grandiose. The site had no barricades, reflectors, or warning lights, making the nearly 30-foot-deep excavation almost impossible to spot in thick fog.
Unable to swim, Mehta managed to escape the vehicle and climb onto its roof as it slowly submerged. His father, Raj Mehta, a retired SBI director who lives in the same sector, rushed to the spot within minutes after receiving his son’s call and WhatsApp location.
Police and emergency responders were alerted, but locating Mehta in the darkness proved extremely difficult. Rescuers threw ropes, deployed ladders, and even brought in a crane, but none reached him in time. A passerby, Moninder, jumped into the icy water and searched for almost half an hour, but could not find him in the murk.
Officials said dense fog, severe cold, and the depth of the pit hampered rescue efforts. SDRF teams arrived first but did not have equipment suited for such a deep operation. The NDRF was later called in from Ghaziabad, costing valuable time. By around 1.45am, Mehta’s cries had stopped. His body was recovered at about 4.30am, nearly four hours after the crash.
Residents said the excavation had been left open for nearly two years and that a similar accident had occurred just days earlier, without any action taken. Police described the site as a deadly hazard, especially during winter fog.
An FIR has been registered against two builders — MZ Wishtown Planners Pvt Ltd and Lotus Greens Construction Pvt Ltd — under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to culpable homicide, death by negligence, and acts endangering life. Police said they would also raise the issue with the Noida Authority to address wider safety lapses in the area.
Mehta, who worked with Dunnhumby India in Gurgaon, lived with his father in Sector 150. He had lost his mother two years ago and was the family’s sole earning member.
