- One student died, and four were injured after a tree fell on a school bus in Mumbai's Chembur
- The incident happened on Road No. 11 in the Chembur area of Mumbai city
- Injured children were taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment
An 11-year-old boy has died, and four other children were injured in Mumbai after a large tree collapsed onto their school bus on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident occurred on Road No. 11 in Chembur, with 13 children on board the vehicle belonging to Universal School. Quick action by the bus conductor and local citizens ensured that the children were swiftly rescued from the wreckage before the Mumbai Fire Brigade arrived on the scene.
Five students, including three boys and two girls, were rushed to the nearby Zen Multispeciality Hospital for emergency medical care. 11-year-old Vihan Shrivastav sustained severe, critical injuries from the impact and was declared dead. The hospital authorities said that the other four injured children sustained minor injuries and are currently in stable condition.
"Two of the injured children have undergone further medical examinations, including CT scans, and are currently receiving treatment. The remaining two children have also been examined, and their condition is stable," Dr Roy Patankar, the hospital's director, said.
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde visited Zen Hospital to meet with the victims' families.
"This was painful. I came here as a mother. The parents were speechless. The Universal School bus had 13 kids; 12 are safe, but one unfortunately died," she said.
"The BMC claimed all the trees on the road were trimmed, but locals told me that they had complained about dangerous trees. If there was inaction, we will look into it. We want all old trees to be audited. What we know is that the trees were trimmed, but a thorough audit is necessary. We have raised this demand multiple times," she added.
"We will not try to shield the administration. All of us will look into this; there is no scope for any excuses. If we find that the complaints by the locals went unheard, the strictest action will be taken," Tawde said.
Following the incident, residents alleged that they had repeatedly written to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) requesting that the trees be trimmed or cleared, noting that a similar incident had occurred in the area previously. Despite multiple warnings, no action was taken.
(With inputs from Ruttik Ganakwar)
