Several feared trapped as multi-storey 'chawl' collapses in Mumbai amid heavy rain; rescue ops on

The incident occurred around 8.30 pm at Chawl No. 5 in Janta Nagar, behind Hanuman Mandir in Mankhurd.

MUMBAI: At least six people were killed and one injured after a multi-storey chawl collapsed in Mumbai's Mankhurd area on Sunday evening amid heavy rainfall. The incident occurred around 8.30 pm at Chawl No. 5 in Janta Nagar, behind Hanuman Mandir in Mankhurd.Of the six people killed, five were children — all boys aged between six and eight years. The sixth victim was a 35-year-old woman. One of the children, a seven-year-old boy, was brought dead to Rajawadi Hospital. Doctors said a 24-year-old man, who was a passerby, was injured in the incident. He survived with a fractured hand.Rescue operations were underway at the site, with emergency teams working to locate and rescue those trapped under the debris.

MIM corporator Vijay Ubale, who was present at the site, said two dilapidated structures that were on the verge of collapse had been vacated by residents on Sunday afternoon. However, by evening, several locals had returned to the area when one of the structures suddenly collapsed. Ubale said children were the worst affected by the tragedy. One of the five children killed was from a neighbouring house and had come over to play with the other children in the structure that collapsed.

He added that the entire locality was in chaos following the collapse, making it difficult to determine whether more people were trapped under the debris. Rescue operations were underway, with civic officials and emergency teams continuing search efforts at the site.Reacting to the incident, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawade said people living in unauthorised constructions were to blame, stating that they continued to live in and repeatedly rebuild such structures despite receiving notices from the authorities.Heavy rains lashed Mumbai on Sunday, disrupting flight operations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for nearly an hour, inundating several roads and triggering multiple treefall incidents across the city. One person was killed after a tree collapsed on a shop in Kurla, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had issued a red alert for Mumbai, warning of extremely heavy rainfall.

Several parts of the city recorded over 200 mm of rain in 24 hours, while a few locations received more than 300 mm. Flight operations at Mumbai airport were affected as strong winds and poor visibility caused significant disruptions. According to sources, four IndiGo flights were cancelled and 13 incoming flights operated by various airlines were diverted to nearby airports due to adverse weather conditions. All diverted flights later returned and landed in Mumbai after conditions improved.Meanwhile, a 63-year-old man lost his life in Kurla after a tree fell on a shop during heavy rainfall. Civic officials said the incident took place around 12.40 pm near Hindi BMC School in the Naupada area of Kurla West. The victim, identified as Yunus Kundawala, was pulled out from the debris and rushed to Fauzia Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The incident comes less than a week after an 11-year-old boy was killed and several others were injured when a tree fell on a moving school bus in Chembur on June 30. Videos circulating on social media also showed a tree collapsing in front of industrialist Mukesh Ambani's security convoy in Bandra, briefly disrupting traffic movement in the area. Data from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) automatic rain gauge network showed that several locations received more than 200 mm of rainfall during the 24-hour period ending at 8 am on Sunday.(With Agency Inputs)