Maharashtra: 2-year-old boy injured after falling into open sewer chamber in Thane

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A two-year-old boy suffered injuries after plunging nearly 20 feet into an open sewer chamber in Maharashtra's Thane city, officials said on Wednesday, reported news agency PTI.

The incident occurred near the Dnyanasadhana college on Tuesday evening, said Yasin Tadvi, chief of the Disaster Management Cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation.

Hamdan Gufran Qureshi, who lives in the Rabodi area of the city, had come to stay with his relatives. He was walking along the footpath with his mother when he lost his balance and fell into an open drainage chamber, reported PTI.

Local residents pulled out the child before the authorities arrived. Qureshi was first taken to the District Government Hospital before being shifted to a private medical facility in the city, reported PTI.

"A fall of nearly 20 feet is extremely dangerous, especially for a child this young. Fortunately, he survived. Our focus was to ensure he received immediate medical attention," said Tadvi.

Officials said the sewer chamber lid had remained open as an iron pipe obstructed it. The pipe was cut and the chamber was properly closed, they said. "The department concerned must act swiftly and ensure that such safety lapses do not occur again," said Tadvi, reported PTI.

Pit caves in at construction site in Thane; no injuries

In another incident, a section of a large excavation pit at an under-construction building site collapsed in Maharashtra's Thane city, civic officials said on Wednesday, reported PTI.

Nobody was injured in the incident that occurred around 11.30 pm on Tuesday at a project location of "Shri Lakshmi Narayan Enterprises near Mukund Society", said Yasin Tadvi, chief of the Disaster Management Cell of the Thane Municipal Corporation, reported PTI.

He said a portion of the pit, 40 feet long and 35-40 feet deep, caved in. For public safety, disaster management personnel have barricaded the affected zone, said Tadvi.

Meanwhile, a 34-year-old worker was killed after an iron bar fell on his head at a steel manufacturing plant in Maharashtra's Palghar district, officials said on Tuesday, reported PTI.

The incident took place at the unit located in the Boisar area on Monday afternoon, they said. The worker, identified as Paresh Ramesh Rathod, died on the spot after being struck by an iron bar, a police official said, reported PTI.

The body was sent for postmortem to a government hospital and a case of accidental death was registered as of now. A probe was on into the incident, Boisar police station Inspector Sunil Jadhav said, reported PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)