Mumbai landslide kills 7, including 3 children in Ghatkopar
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Mumbai: At least seven people, including three children, were killed and four others injured after a massive landslide struck a residential pocket in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar early Wednesday following persistent heavy rain.
The incident occurred around 3:48 a.m. at Gaushiya Chawl in the Ashok Nagar area of Chirag Nagar, when a portion of an adjacent hillside collapsed, sending mud, large boulders and debris onto two to three row houses while residents were asleep.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in a post on social media platform X, described the incident in the Sakinaka Gausia Chawl area of Ghatkopar as “extremely heartbreaking”.
He said some people had lost their lives after relentless overnight rain caused part of the hill to collapse onto houses, trapping residents under the debris. He added that rescue teams reached the site promptly after receiving information about the incident and that the injured were shifted to hospital for treatment.
Civic authorities confirmed that seven victims were brought dead to the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar.
The deceased were identified as Mohammad Samir Ansari (14), Sahil Husen Abdul Kazi (19), Aban Arif Shaikh (2), Manat Arif Shaikh (4), Marjina Arif Shaikh (27), Viket Ramesh Yadav (27), and an unidentified adult.
Four injured people, Sohel Ansari (18), Mohammad Ansari (14), Naimuddhin Eqbal Khan (28) and Sajid Ansari (16) were rescued and admitted to Bhabha Hospital in Kurla. Officials said their conditions were stable.
Search and rescue operations were launched immediately by teams from the Mumbai Fire Brigade, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Mumbai Police and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) ward staff.
However, rescuers faced major operational difficulties because of the terrain in Chirag Nagar. The access routes leading to Gaushiya Chawl are extremely narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, preventing heavy earth-moving machinery from reaching the immediate collapse site.
Rescue teams therefore had to rely on manual tools and hand-held equipment to remove concrete slabs, mud and debris.
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde visited the site to oversee the rescue operations and meet affected families.
The Mayor announced immediate financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh as ex-gratia for the next of kin of each deceased victim and Rs 50,000 towards the medical treatment of each injured person.
Municipal authorities have placed settlements located near hill slopes on high alert as heavy rainfall continues across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
With IANS inputs