Kanpur: Woman, 18, Dies After House Courtyard Collapses Over Abandoned Borewell

An 18-year-old woman died in Purwami village of Kanpur on Friday after the courtyard of her house collapsed over an abandoned borewell, causing her to fall nearly 25 feet underground, police said. The victim, identified as Yashi Savita, had reportedly just stepped out of the bathroom after taking a bath when the ground beneath her gave way. She was eventually rescued after nearly seven hours of efforts but was declared dead at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Sarsaul.

According to police, the incident occurred at around 6.40 am as Yashi was walking towards the courtyard. Her elder sister witnessed her fall and alerted their parents. The family initially attempted to rescue her by lowering a rope into the opening, but continuing soil collapse caused Yashi to slip further down. The family then informed the police, following which emergency response teams were mobilised.

A Police Response Vehicle (PRV) 112 reached the location at around 6.55 am, while local police arrived at approximately 7.15 am. Fire brigade personnel reached the village around 8.15 am, followed by a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team at about 8.40 am. The formal rescue operation began around 9.25 am, with nearly 60 personnel involved in the effort to reach the trapped woman safely.

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Rescue teams excavated around 24 feet of soil by the afternoon and eventually reached Yashi. NDRF Deputy Commandant Naveen Sharma said she was pulled out unconscious and immediately taken to CHC Sarsaul. Dipendra Uttam of the health centre said medical personnel examined her for around 10 minutes but found that she was not breathing. Yashi was brought to the health centre at approximately 2.43 pm and was declared dead.

Family members told officials that the borewell had been dug inside the house around three years ago but was abandoned after no water was found. A second borewell was subsequently dug at another location, while the old one was covered and a floor was constructed over it. The family suspects that persistent rainfall weakened the soil surrounding the abandoned borewell, eventually causing the courtyard surface to collapse.

Yashi was the youngest of four sisters and lived with her parents, sisters Ruchi, Rupa and Anupama, and brother Bhaskar, also known as Amit. Her father, Vinod, works as a daily-wage labourer. The incident has highlighted the risks posed by abandoned and inadequately secured borewells, particularly when they are covered and incorporated into residential or open spaces.

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