As heavy rain continued to lash Mumbai on Tuesday, a large peepal tree uprooted and crashed on a school van carrying children home in Chembur, killing an 11-year-old student and injuring at least four others in one of the city’s worst rain-related tragedies this monsoon.
The accident took place around 2.50 pm on Road No. 11 in Subhash Nagar near Heritage Pride building when the tree fell on a Universal High School van carrying 12 children, according to the police.
The van had left the school with 18 students. By the time it reached Subhash Nagar, six children had been dropped, leaving 12 inside when the tree came crashing down.
The incident was reported around 2.50 pm along Road no. 11 near Chembur’s Heritage Pride structure, where a large peepal tree was uprooted and collapsed on a van belonging to Universal High School, according to the police. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
The tree crushed the school van, trapping 12 children from the school inside the vehicle.
The van’s conductor and locals rescued the trapped children soon after the incident.
Residents rushed to the spot after hearing a loud crash followed by cries from inside the vehicle. “Initially, it felt like something had happened in the nearby building where construction activity was underway. But soon we started hearing loud cries and screams of children when I realised that something was amiss. When we looked out, we saw a huge commotion and rushed to the accident site,” said Rashi Shah, a local resident of the Subhash Nagar area.
The tree fell on the rear portion of the van, trapping several children inside. “The tree had fallen towards the back end of the bus. We forcefully opened the gate and kids on the front side escaped quickly. However, children at the back were stuck as the tree was lodged in between. We broke the windows and managed to rescue them,” said Suresh Bahadur, a watchman from a neighbouring building who joined the rescue effort.
However, one student, on whom the tree fell directly, remained trapped for nearly 45 minutes. He was sitting on the second last row of the bus. “We called the police, and fire brigade and using machines, the tree was cut and the boy was finally removed from the bus,” Bahadur added.
The rescued children were taken into a nearby bungalow where residents comforted them until their parents arrived. “Inside the bungalow, we consoled the kids and called their parents who finally reached the spot,” Shah said.
Five injured students were rushed to Zen Hospital, where 11 year old Vihan Srivastava was declared dead at 4.23 pm.
The injured have been identified as Yuvaan Gelani (10), Ganiv Singh (12), Monika Sahni (4) and Krisha Rai (10). Krisha was discharged after treatment, while the remaining children continue to undergo treatment.
“Currently, one of them is undergoing treatment in the ICU, while the other two are in general ward. All the children who were in the bus were local residents of Chembur’s Shubhashnagar area. We have met with the family and have assured our support,” Harish Bahndirge, chairperson of the civic health committee, told The Indian Express.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Samir Shaikh said an Accidental Death Report has been registered and no FIR has been filed so far.
The fallen tree blocked traffic for several hours as teams from the BMC’s tree department and the Mumbai Fire Brigade cleared the debris.
An official from the civic tree department said the tree appeared to have collapsed because its roots had weakened over time.
“The tree was very old and its root were completely weakened. When we reached the spot, we inspected and noticed that the side roots of the tree were sturdy the central core roots had completely given way,’ the official said.
Mumbai Mayor, Ritu Tawde who inspected the site on Tuesday, has called for an inquiry into the cause of the tree collapse. “A verification will be conducted to check if citizens have complained against the cement concretization in the area. If negligence is found, strict action will be taken,” said the BMC officials.
The tree crushed the school van, trapping 12 children inside the vehicle. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty) 
The incident was reported around 2.50 pm along Road no. 11 near Chembur’s Heritage Pride structure, where a large peepal tree was uprooted and collapsed on a van belonging to Universal High School, according to the police. (Express Photo: Amit Chakravarty)
Share
