Even After Over 24 Hrs, No Trace Of 3-Yr-Old Mumbai Boy Who Fell Down Gutter; Rescue Operation Underway

Even after almost one and half day of falling into an open storm water drain at Ambedkar Chowk in Malad East, the three-year old boy Divyansh is yet to be traced.

The relentless father of the missing child has blamed the BMC.

Even after almost one and half day of falling into an open storm water drain at Ambedkar Chowk in Malad East, the three-year old boy Divyansh is yet to be traced. Both family members and the rescue team fear the worse as the time passes. Efforts to trace the child has been on full swing since Wednesday after a video of the toddler slipping into the drain went viral on social media and news channels. The relentless father of the missing child has blamed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for the tragidy and has even threatened the officials to commit suicide if his child is not found by tonight. "BMC is responsible for the incident. Can they bring back my child? I want my child back. If I don't get him back by tonight, I will commit suicide," he said. Entire family of the child is completely distraught after the incident and his mother is in unconscious state at the moment. At times, she wakes up and runs out of the housing searching for her lost child. Operation still underway to rescue the boy. Watch video here:

#WATCH Mumbai: Operation still underway to rescue the boy who fell in a gutter in Ambedkar Nagar area of Goregaon around 10:24 pm on 10th July. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/vYtZEoC1s6

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2019

The incident took place around 10 pm on Wednesday. "The boy, identified as Divyansh, was strolling outside his house when he fell into the drain near Goregaon-Malad Link road," an official of the Disaster Management Unit of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had said. "When the boy's mother could not find him, she raised an alarm. Thereafter, the footage of the CCTV camera installed near the building was checked, in which he was seen falling into the drain," he said. The incident brought back bitter memories of the August 2017 mishap in which Dr Deepak Amarapurkar, a well-known gastroenterologist, died after falling into an open manhole while walking down a flooded street in south Mumbai during torrential rain. The NCP and the Congress lashed out at the Shiv Sena-ruled Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and sought action against the civic officials concerned. Mumbai Mayor Vishwanath Mahadeshwar, who visited the spot, said a probe will be launched to find the reason behind this mishap and action will be taken against the officials responsible for it. After the incident came to light, a search and rescue operation was launched. However, the rescue team has not been able to find the boy so far. Due to the heavy flow of water in the drainage, the boy is feared to have been washed away, the official said. The search operation is being jointly carried out by the BMC staff, Mumbai police, the fire brigade and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF). The civic body claimed that the cover of the drain was removed by some individuals.