Thane man, 35, dies days after tree fell on bike, had stepped out to refuel

This is the third death in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in two months due to a tree collapse.

The tree was partially uprooted and the road next to it was also in a bad condition. (Express Photo)

4 min readJul 3, 2026 07:40 PM IST First published on: Jul 3, 2026 at 05:57 PM IST

In another tragic death due to a tree fall, 35-year-old Rahul Ashok Patil died on Friday morning, two days after he suffered severe head injuries when a tree fell on him while he was on his two-wheeler in Thane’s Mira Road.

Rahul was the son of Ashok Patil, former Vice President of Mira Bhayandar Municipal Council in 1985, and lived in Rai Gaon in Bhayandar West. According to his uncle, Ramesh Patil, Rahul had stepped out around 4.30 pm on Wednesday to refuel his two-wheeler and was on his way back home when the incident took place. He was barely a kilometre away from home.

“He suffered a severe head injury and one of his eyes was badly damaged. We rushed him to Tunga Hospital,” Ramesh Patil said.

Rahul underwent emergency surgery but remained in a coma; he was put on life support. According to the family, doctors were monitoring his condition before deciding on a second surgery. “Doctors were waiting for his body to respond. The second surgery was planned for Thursday night but could not take place as his condition worsened,” Ramesh Patil said.

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Rahul died around 9 am on Friday and the funeral took place around 4.30pm on Friday.

Holding civic authorities responsible, Ramesh Patil alleged that the coconut tree that fell on Rahul had shown signs of instability before the monsoon. “The tree was partially uprooted and the road next to it was also in a bad condition. The (municipal) corporation should have removed the dangerous tree before the monsoon. No preventive action was taken. Residents had flagged it earlier, too, but no one cared,” he alleged, demanding accountability for the incident.

Ramesh Patil said Rahul is survived by his parents and sister. He worked in his father’s office.

Jayesh Bhoir, Ward 23 corporator at the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation, said, “It was an unfortunate accident. In the last few days, several rain-related deaths and injuries have taken place in Mumbai and Thane. A BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) officer has arrived and is conducting a survey to identify vulnerable trees and damaged roads.”

Bhoir said hazardous branches are being removed wherever possible, but continuous rain has affected operations.

Responding to allegations about the condition of the road, where the incident took place, Bhoir said, “The incident occurred because the tree fell. It was not due to a pothole.”

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He acknowledged that pre-monsoon tree maintenance had faced delays. According to him, the hydraulic equipment used for tree pruning had not been repaired in time. “The machinery was not ready on time, and that affected work. We requested multiple times, but the authorities kept delaying. Tree pruning and maintenance are undertaken every year before the monsoon, but this year’s work was affected by equipment-related delays and persistent rain,” he said.

This is the third death in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region in two months due to a tree collapse. On May 10, a large tree in Khar fell on an auto-rickshaw. Fifteen-year-old Aarika Srivastava, who suffered critical injuries in the accident, died a week later. And just two days back, 11-year-old Vihan Srivastava died in Chembur when a tree collapsed on a school bus.