10 July,2026 11:54 AM IST | Pune | Archana Dahiwal
Over 100 personnel involved in 25-hour-long rescue operation. Pic/ Special Arrangement
Hope slowly turned into despair outside the Moshi garbage depot in Pimpri-Chinchwad on Thursday as anxious families continued to wait for their loved ones trapped beneath a massive garbage mound.
With every passing hour, the optimism of rescuers pulling out more survivors faded into grief after one worker died following his rescue. While nine workers were rescued alive through the night, a 33-year-old worker succumbed after being pulled out in a critical condition on Thursday morning. Around 12 others are still feared trapped as the rescue operation continues at the site.
A 33-year-old accounts executive, Bhavesh Mohan Wani, was brought out in a critical condition on Thursday morning and was declared dead at Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital, said Dr Rajendra Wable, dean of YCM Hospital.
Authorities fear that around 12 workers remain trapped as one of the largest rescue operations in Pimpri-Chinchwad continues.
According to the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's Disaster Management Cell, nine workers were rescued alive till late Wednesday night, while one more worker was pulled out in a critical condition on Thursday morning. Despite continuous efforts, several workers are still believed to be buried beneath thousands of tonnes of garbage and collapsed concrete.
Outside the disaster site, relatives of missing workers remained glued to the rescue operation, waiting for any sign of their loved ones.
Holding her two young children close, the wife of missing driver Sunny Mane broke down and repeatedly cried, "The whole world is in front of me, but where has my husband disappeared? Since yesterday, my eyes have been searching only for him."
Mane, a permanent driver at the facility for the past three years, remains untraceable. His seven-year-old son continues to wait for his father, while his two-year-old son innocently keeps asking, "When will Papa come home?"
The agony is similar for the family of Mahesh Kumbhar, a 32-year-old HR executive from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. His brother Santosh reached Moshi immediately after receiving a midnight call from the company informing him that Mahesh was trapped inside the collapsed building. The family continues to hope for a miracle.
Nearby, Sarika Kasbe broke down while appealing to rescuers to save her father, Waman Kasbe, who is also among those missing. As the rescue operation stretched beyond 24 hours, several relatives were seen anxiously watching the movement of heavy machinery, hoping every stretcher emerging from the debris would bring good news.
Bhavesh Wani, a resident of Rupinagar, worked in the accounts department of the private company operating the Waste-to-Energy facility.
Family members said Wani had messaged his parents shortly before the collapse, informing them that he was going for lunch. He was recovered from the debris on Thursday morning but succumbed before treatment could begin, authorities said.
The accident occurred around 1.30 pm on Wednesday when days of incessant rainfall triggered a massive slide of accumulated garbage, crushing the three-storey administrative building of the Waste-to-Energy project located adjacent to the landfill.
A massive joint rescue operation involving around 100 personnel from the Indian Army's BEG under a Colonel, 60 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) led by its Commandant, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Fire Brigade, police personnel and other emergency agencies has continued round the clock.
Sniffer dogs, heavy earth-moving machinery, specialised cutting equipment and oxygen support systems are being used to reach workers trapped beneath the debris.
Senior civic officials said the rescue operation may continue for another 12 to 15 hours, depending on the stability of the debris and access to the collapsed structure.
PCMC Commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi and senior officials are supervising the operation at the site, while State Minister Girish Mahajan reviewed the rescue efforts and assured families that every possible resource has been deployed to save those still trapped.
The Moshi garbage depot, spread across 81 acres at Adarshnagar, has served as the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's (PCMC) sole landfill since 1991.
The site also houses the city's Waste-to-Energy plant, operated by a private contractor, where municipal waste is processed to generate electricity. The three-storey administrative building that collapsed was located immediately adjacent to the towering garbage mound.
The depot has long exceeded its intended capacity after receiving the city's waste continuously for more than 35 years. Daily waste generation in Pimpri-Chinchwad has increased from 832 tonnes in 2017 to nearly 1,579 tonnes at present, while the landfill area has remained unchanged.
As a result, massive garbage hills have accumulated over the years.
Officials said days of incessant rainfall destabilised one of these towering garbage mounds, triggering a landslide that buried the administrative building around 1.30 pm on Wednesday, trapping workers inside.
The incident has renewed concerns over the exhausted capacity of the landfill, the increasing height of garbage heaps and the location of key office infrastructure next to the unstable waste mound.
