Wednesday downpour claims lives of two minors in separate incidents; one missing in Malad

Speaking to The Indian Express, Asha Koparkar, ex-corporator from Bhandup said that the tragedy struck after the collapse of a slab on the third floor of the building. “Owing to leakage, a slab on the third floor of the building collapsed and hit a toddler who resided on the second floor of the building. Since the incident happened very late at night, the search for a doctor was delayed. The girl’s family claimed that the delayed treatment resulted in her death.”

In a separate incident which unfolded in Bhiwandi, Sujata Kadam (14) drowned and lost her life on Wednesday afternoon. A senior official from Bhiwandi Fire Brigade told Express, “Sujata, a student of ninth grade, and her brother were returning from school when they decided to play in a nearby Nullah. Since there were heavy showers, the kids lost control.”

While her 12-year-old brother was rescued safely by fire brigade officials, Sujata Kadam drowned in the drain, which according to civic officials, was five feet deep.

Meanwhile, a 25 year old person fell down a water stream on Wednesday around 5.16 pm. The incident was reported in Malad (East), however the body of the victim is yet to be recovered.

According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the victim has been identified as Chandan Dilip Saha (25).  Civic officials said that the Saha fell down into a drain and then was dragged into the Poisar river due to the strong current of water.

“The place where the incident took place is a forest area and there is a dam nearby. So it could be possible that after falling down he got drawn into the deep water due to strong tidal currents,” said Kiran Dighavkar, assistant municipal commissioner.

Civic officials said that after the incident took place, a search and rescue operation was initiated by Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) with anchor and hook, however, the operation was stopped at 8.15 pm due to bad weather and poor visibility.

On Wednesday night, another incident of partial building collapse was reported in Bhendi Bazaar at 8:47 pm. According to the BMC reports, the incident took place in the ground-plus-two storey Panwala building after a portion of the building’s ceiling plaster on the second floor collapsed. While no casualties have been reported in the collapse, one person has been injured. The victim has been identified as Veena Shinde (63) who sustained a fracture in her leg and is undergoing treatment at JJ Hospital.