The family was fast asleep when the mud gushed down due to heavy rainfall, taking their home with it; according to eyewitnesses, no rescue teams arrived at the site immediately after the incident
The safety wall that collapsed, taking a house with it. PIC/SHADAB KHAN
A tragic landslide in Vikhroli in the wee hours of Saturday claimed the lives of two family members and left two others critically injured, once again exposing the city’s recurring monsoon vulnerabilities.
The incident occurred at a slope-side settlement in Varsha Nagar at Vikhroli Parksite. A sudden collapse of loose mud and debris, due to the incessant rains that the city witnessed overnight, engulfed a small hut where four members of the Mishra family were asleep. While Suresh Mishra, 50, and his 19-year-old daughter Shalu were declared brought dead by the AMO of Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, his wife Arti, 45, and son Ruturaj, 20, were badly bruised.
According to eyewitnesses, no rescue teams arrived at the site immediately after the incident. Instead, it was neighbours and family members who frantically dug through the debris with bare hands and makeshift tools to pull out the trapped. “It was only when we brought all four down that we saw one police van arrive,” said Shiva Mishra, a relative who helped in the rescue effort. His statement highlighted the desperation and delay that compounded the family’s suffering.
All four were taken to the hospital by relatives and neighbours in autos. “The rescue team from disaster and fire departments came around 3.30 am. By that time my brother had already removed them from the debris,” said Shalini Shukla, another relative.
One of the doctors on duty said both Arti and Ruturaj had sustained major contusions, and Arti received stitches on the forehead. “The CT scans of both patients have came back clear.” Postmortem exam reports were awaited till the time the paper went to press. While doctors were of the opinion that both the patients as per rules and considering the severity of the incident must be discharged only after 24 hours of observation, the family requested them to be discharged on Saturday morning itself.
“Arti aunty and Suresh uncle have four children — two elder daughters who are at their native place in UP, one of them married, other than Ruturaj and Shalu. Ruturaj is their only son and Suresh uncle’s last rituals must be conducted by Ruturaj only. And it would have been unfair that Arti aunty and Ruturaj do not get to see the family one last time. So, we signed the consent form and got them discharged on our responsibility,” said Shiva.
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