Man woman his niece drown as rainwater floods house basement in Jaipur

    Jaipur, Aug 1 (PTI) Three people, including a minor girl, drowned after rainwater gushed into the basement of their house in Vishwakarma area of Jaipur city early Thursday morning, officials said.
    The bodies were recovered after a rescue operation that lasted for several hours, they said.
    After the water entered the basement of their house, the family members began removing their belongings, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) West Amit Kumar said.
    During this time, three people from two families got trapped in the basement as it filled with water, Kumar said.
    A rescue operation was initiated and mud pumps were deployed to pump out the rainwater, the DCP said.
    He said the operation concluded after a team from the SDRF retrieved the bodies of Kamal, his niece Purvi and Pooja.
    Pooja and Purvi belonged to one family, while Kamal was from another family, the DCP said.    
    Police said the passage to the basement of the house was narrow and deep.
    Residents of similar houses in the area have been being advised not to stay in their basements during rainfall, they said.
    The bodies of the victims have been shifted to Kanwatiya Government Hospital for postmortem, the police said.    
    Most areas of the Jaipur city experienced waterlogging due to heavy rainfall that began on Wednesday night and continued into the morning.
    According to the Meteorological Department, Jaipur, Karauli, Sawaimadhopur, Alwar, Churu, Bharatpur, Tonk, Sikar, Hanumangarh, Dholpur, Nagaur and Jhunjhunu recorded heavy to very heavy rainfall in the past 24 hours ending at 8.30 am on Thursday.
    Jaipur recorded the highest rainfall of 173 mm during this period, the weather office said.
    Rainwater accumulated on roads and in residential areas, causing significant commuting issues. Rainwater also accumulated outside the Jaipur airport terminal building.
    Jaipur Collector Prakash Raj Purohit visited rain-affected areas, such as Vishwakarma area, Sikar Road and Jaipur airport, and directed officials to make necessary arrangements for the situation.
    Several schools in Jaipur declared a holiday due to the continued rainfall.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)