A 14-year-old girl in Mumbai succumbed to her injuries, while another young woman remains in critical condition after a tree fell on an auto-rickshaw on Linking Road near Rajkumar Jewellers in Khar (West), civic officials confirmed on Saturday.
As per the officials, the incident was initially reported to authorities by the local police station on May 10 at around 10:30 pm. According to officials, the tree, which reportedly fell from the compound of Blue Stone Builder, crashed onto a passing auto-rickshaw, trapping and seriously injuring two female passengers.
Those injured were travelling in the autorickshaw when the tree suddenly collapsed onto the vehicle. A 14-year-old girl and her 21-year-old friend suffered serious injuries in the accident.
Both victims were immediately rushed to Hinduja Hospital, Khar, for treatment. As per the latest medical update shared at 10:27 am on Sunday, May 17, by Dr Nupur Trivedi, Medical Coordinator at Hinduja Hospital, Erica Shrivastav (14) was declared dead after battling severe injuries for nearly a week.
On the other hand, the second victim, Harshita Kumar (21), continues to remain admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), where her condition is stated to be critical.
The tragic incident has raised concerns over tree maintenance and public safety, particularly regarding the structural stability of trees located within private compounds adjoining public roads.
Huge tree falls on petrol pump in Dadar
In another incident, a huge tree collapsed onto a CNG petrol pump on Gokhale Road in the Dadar area of Mumbai on Sunday evening, causing panic in the area.
Local residents and motorists rushed to safety after the tree came crashing down on a section of the fuel station, sources said.
Officials said emergency teams, including the fire brigade and civic staff, reached the spot soon after the incident to clear the fallen tree and assess the damage.
Officials said that no injuries have so far been reported in the incident. However, some disruption to traffic movement was witnessed in the busy Dadar area during the clearance operation.
Tree branch falls on auto rickshaw in Thane
In another incident in the neighbouring Thane district of Maharashtra, a large tree branch fell on a parked auto rickshaw in Thane West on Sunday evening, damaging the vehicle but causing no injuries, officials said.
The incident took place at around 6.45 pm near Raunak Park in Gawand Baug, Kokani Pada.
According to the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) of the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), the impact led to damaging the roof of the vehicle and shattered the glass of the parked rickshaw.
Officials from the disaster management department and the fire brigade reached the location with emergency vehicles soon after the incident was reported.
