Chawl collapse, tree falls raise rain toll
Mumbai/ Navi Mumbai/ Thane/ Vasai, July 6 -- At least 13 people were killed as heavy rains accompanied by gusty winds lashed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) on Sunday. The largest death toll was recorded in Mankhurd, where a few slum tenements collapsed on Sunday night, killing at least six people.
Earlier in the day, a businessman and a part-time worker were killed in separate tree/ branch collapse incidents in Kurla and Aarey Colony.
Though Mumbai received 150-170 mm rainfall over the 24 hours ending 5pm on Sunday, alongside a 4.19-metre high tide at 3:22pm, no major waterlogging incidents were reported from across the city.
Around 8.30pm on Sunday, around 2-3 ground-plus-three tenements in Janta Nagar, Mankhurd, collapsed amid heavy rain. The Assistant Medical Officer at Shatabdi Hospital said five victims rescued from the site - four minors and a 32-year-old woman - were declared dead on arrival at the hospital. One more minor was pronounced dead on arrival at Rajawadi Hospital, while a 24-year-old injured man was under treatment and stable.
Earlier on Sunday, two people were killed in separate tree-fall incidents in Aarey Colony and Kurla.
According to the police, Sakinaka resident Hasan Sayyad, 18, was riding through the Aarey Colony with friends amid heavy rain around 3.30am when he was struck on the head by a falling branch. Sayyad was a third year student and worked part time, said Ravindra Patil, senior police inspector, Aarey Colony police station . "He was riding pillion on his friend's motorbike when the branch fell on his head. They rushed him to Balaji Hospital in Malad East, where he was declared dead on arrival," the officer said.
In the other tree-fall related death, 63-year-old Yunus Kundawala was killed when a large branch from a Saptaparni tree fell on him in Kurla West, killing him on the spot. Kundawala had travelled from his home in Bandra to Kurla West on Sunday morning, to prepare for the inauguration of the shop his sons had gifted him. Mayor Ritu Tawde later announced an immediate financial assistance of Rs.5 lakh for Kundawala's kin.
The fatalities occurred as the city witnessed one of its heaviest spells of rainfall this monsoon, accompanied by strong winds. The highest wind speed of 72.4kmph was recorded in C ward in Marine Lines and D ward in Malabar Hill. In the eastern suburbs, Ghatkopar recorded the top wind speed at 75kmph while in the western suburbs, Bandra West saw the strongest winds at 77kmph.
The BMC received more than 250 complaints of fallen trees - mainly from Bandra, Shivaji Park, Matunga and Chembur.
At least one person was killed in Vashi and 435 people had to be evacuated from flood-prone areas in Panvel and a residential building in Belapur as Navi Mumbai was battered by heavy rain and strong winds. The deceased was identified as Rajesh Shetty, 35, a cook at the well-known Bhagat Tarachand restaurant. Shetty was killed when the third-floor balcony of an ageing four-storey building collapsed onto the road and an iron rod from the falling structure struck him.
In Bhiwandi, 17-year-old Mohammad was swept away by strong currents while catching crabs that usually emerge when the Kamwari river swells. His body could not be located will late into night, when the rescue operation was suspended due to darkness.
In Ambernath, the body of Vishwanath Kamble, who had been missing since Friday after drowning in the Chikhloli dam, was recovered on Sunday.
In Vasai-Virar, police registered two accidental death cases on Sunday. In the first incident, a man identified as Sumeer Kumar Mandal died after he fell into a drain in a waterlogged-stretch of the Madhuvan area in Vasai East. In the second incident, a man trying to enter his house at Santosh Nagar in Nalasopara East was electrocuted to death while climbing the metallic ladder to his mezzanine-floor tenement.
The heavy downpour replenished fast-depleting depleting water reserves, with the stock in seven lakes that supply water to the city rising 3.78% compared to a day earlier....
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