17 June,2025 06:51 AM IST | Mumbai | Eshanpriya MS
The site where the BEST bus got stuck in a crater in Girgaon yesterday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
A portion of the road caved in under the left rear tyre of a BEST bus at the junction of Babasaheb Jaykar Marg and Jagannath Shankarsheth Road at 9.25 am on Monday, where work on the underground Girgaon Metro station on Aqua Line 3 is in progress. No injuries were reported. The incident occurred due to ingress of water from a leakage in a nearby utility, which created a cavity under the surface of the road, which was not visible to motorists or pedestrians.
When a BEST bus halted above this cavity, the road surface gave way, forming a crater. The source of the leakage is not yet known. The bus was retrieved and transported to the Backbay Depot within an hour of the incident. Meanwhile, Jaykar Marg was closed to commuters by the traffic police, leading to traffic snarls.
An official deployed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on-site told mid-day on Monday afternoon, "We are in the process of identifying the source of the leakage, and it will be fixed on priority. Meanwhile, the road will remain closed to traffic to avert accidents."
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In a statement issued by Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited read, "Water ingress was observed in the basement pit of the proposed Girgaon rehabilitation building, likely due to a nearby utility leakage. This seems to have caused ground loss, forming a cavity that was not visible on the surface. In the morning, the tyre of a BEST bus sank in this area. The bus was travelling between Backbay Depot and J Mehta Road at 8.45 am on Monday. While passing through Jaykar Road at 9.25 am, the left rear tire of the bus got stuck in the collapsed road. The bus was lifted at 10.45 am and taken back to the Backbay Depot."
The spot where the crater was formed in Girgaon.Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Keshav Shirodkar, a Girgaon resident, said, "We heard a snap before realising that a tyre of the bus had got stuck in the crater. The vehicle's passengers disembarked immediately, and there was no panic. However, now that this road is closed, commuters will have to take a detour. The junction was congested all afternoon, adding to problems caused by rain."
Similar incidents
May 2014: A two-metre portion of Pedder Road caved in at Gamdia Junction, after a stormwater drain under the road collapsed.
August 2024: A portion of the Sahar Road near P&T in Andheri Colony caved in, resulting in a 20-foot-deep hole, due to the construction of the tunnel of Metro Line 7A.
September 2024: The tyre of a car got stuck in a crater as the road caved in at Kismet Junction on Veer Savarkar Road in Dadar.
Navi Mumbai wall collapses
In Vashi's Sector 17, a portion of the Vahi Plaza boundary wall collapsed around 3.20 pm. The wall along with a gate attached to it fell onto an adjacent parking area, where multiple vehicles were parked. The vehicles, which were already damaged by the wall's weight, then collapsed into a large pit as the ground under them caved in. However, no injuries or casualties were reported. The local police, fire brigade, and disaster management team rushed to the spot proceed with repair and cleaning work.
