Ten people, including a three-month-old baby, were injured after a crane toppled onto houses in Mumbai’s Kurla East early on Friday while preparations were under way for demolition work, civic officials said.
The incident took place around 3am near the site of a proposed 17-storey building in Indira Nagar and also disrupted goods train movement in the area.
According to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official, a hydraulic crane was being used to lift a Poclain machine brought to the site. During the operation, part of the crane fell onto a high-tension railway overhead wire, nearby houses in Qureshi Nagar, the road at Samrat Ashok Nagar and the compound wall of a Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) building. It also crushed three to four cars parked inside the compound.
Those injured included a three-month-old baby and a 10-year-old boy. Eight of the injured were admitted to the civic-run Sion Hospital, while two were taken to Bhabha Hospital in Kurla. Hospital authorities said all the injured were in stable condition.
The victims were identified as Jagrulla Nabi Mohd Khan, 63; Ahemed Niyaz Ahemed, three months; Atikur Reman, 60; Hakum Sheikh, 36; Numan Khan, 21; Rehman Khan, 19; Suraj Gaur, 10; Akbar, 40; Raju Gaud, 35; and Aarti Gaud, 30.
Civic officials clarified that the work was not related to MHADA, as reported earlier, but was being carried out by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).
In a statement, the MMRDA said preparations for demolition work were under way at Building No. 1, Bhandari Metallurgy, Kurla, and that a crane had been brought to the site.
“While the crane was being positioned at the site, it tilted and fell towards an adjoining structure. The ground at the location was soft, which appears to have affected the stability of the crane,” the agency said.
The MMRDA said some people sustained minor injuries and that it was providing all necessary medical assistance and support.
The agency also mobilised machinery and manpower to remove the fallen crane, with the operation being carried out on priority. The site was secured and precautionary measures were put in place.
The accident affected goods movement on the single-line Kurla-Trombay route of Central Railway after part of the crane fell on the overhead wires.
(With inputs from PTI)
