Two young boys lost their lives on Thursday evening (August 14) after a wall collapsed on them in southwest Delhi’s Vasant Vihar area. The incident occurred around 4:40 pm near Hanuman Mandir in Basant Nagar, following hours of heavy rainfall that battered the city. Police said this is the third rain-related fatality in the Capital in a day. Earlier, a 50-year-old man was killed when a tree uprooted in Kalkaji fell on his vehicle, while his daughter sustained a pelvic fracture in the accident.
Victims from Bihar, declared dead at AIIMS
According to DCP (Southwest) Amit Goel, the victims- a 10-year-old boy from Begusarai and a 9-year-old from Madhubani- were sitting on stairs adjacent to the wall when it suddenly collapsed. A police and disaster management team rushed to the scene after receiving an emergency call. The boys were pulled from the debris and taken in PCR vans to AIIMS Trauma Centre, where doctors declared them brought dead.
Wall belongs to DDA, suspected rain damage
Preliminary inquiries suggest the wall, owned by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), had been weakened by prolonged rains and waterlogging in the locality. Structural experts will inspect surrounding walls to ensure public safety. Debris clearance is underway, police said, to prevent any disruption in the area. The bodies have been preserved for post-mortem examination, and legal formalities are in progress.
Delhi crosses annual rainfall mark four months ahead of schedule
Delhi has recorded 818.1 mm of rainfall so far in 2025, surpassing its annual average of 774.4 mm with more than four months still left in the year, according to official data. The Safdarjung observatory measured 13.1 mm of rain in the 24 hours ending 8:30 am Thursday, followed by another 79.4 mm till 5:30 pm. This took August’s total to 254.8 mm, well above the normal monthly average of 233.1 mm. Remarkably, the first four months of the year saw just 10.5 mm of rain, but from May onwards, the capital received over 800 mm, with each month posting excess rainfall. May set a record with 186.4 mm- over six times its normal- followed by June’s 45 per cent above-average rains and July’s 24 per cent surplus. This is the fastest crossover of the annual average since 2021.
Cooler-than-normal weather to continue
Thursday’s showers brought pleasant relief to the city, with the maximum temperature at 27.7°C, 6.1°C below normal, and the minimum at 23.6°C, 3.2°C below normal. The IMD predicts mostly overcast skies on Friday, with maximum temperatures expected between 31°C and 33°C and minimum temperatures between 23°C and 25°C. Light rain is likely to continue at least until August 20, including two to three brief spells on Independence Day.
