Mumbai rains: 2 electrocuted, another dies as tree falls on her

Mumbai rains

Three people lost their lives in mishaps resulting from incessant rains that brought the city to its knees yesterday. While two men were electrocuted due to a live wire coming in contact with a puddle they stepped in, a woman was killed after a tree fell on her neck.

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Also read: Mumbai flooded; 2 killed, BMC's claims about rain-ready city washed away

All three were rushed to nearby hospitals and were pronounced dead on arrival. The first incident took place at around 8 am at Sewri Cross Road. Ziauddin Kadir Khan (30), a resident of Kidwai Nagar, was on his way to answer nature's call at a common lavatory of the colony. As soon as Khan stepped in a puddle of water, which had formed due to waterlogging, he was electrocuted and fell unconscious.

Cop speak
A police official from RAK Marg police station said the incident occurred because of a short circuit in a BEST cable. "There was an electricity wire which had suffered a short circuit during the overnight rains.

One of the wires had come in contact with the pool of water. As soon as Khan came in contact with the water, he was electrocuted," said a police official. Khan was immediately moved to KEM Hospital in Parel after residents spotted him lying on the road. He was pronounced dead on arrival at 8.30 am.

Another 30-year-old resident of GTB Nagar met with a similar fate at around 9.30 am. The man stepped into a pool of the water that had come in contact with a live wire after a short circuit in the building, and fell unconscious. Passers-by who noticed him moved him immediately to Sion Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Tree crushes woman
A 40 year-old woman from Agripada in Mumbai Central died after a tree fell on her in the wee hours of Friday. The victim was identified as Meena Ansari, a ragpicker and a resident of a slum in the area. Ansari lived in a makeshift shanty along with her husband and two daughters.

Her third daughter was with relatives in Govandi when the mishap occurred. At around 6.15 am yesterday, Ansari was going about her chores. The continuous rainfall in the night had flooded her hut with water and she was busy throwing the water out. Eyewitnesses said one of her pots floated out of the house and Ansari went outside to retrieve it.

That was when a tree fell on her neck, breaking it and killing her on the spot. Neighbours and passers-by removed Ansari's body from under the tree. The fire brigade reportedly took about 30 minutes to reach the spot, by which time her body had already been retrieved.

The body was taken to Nair Hospital where she was declared ‘brought dead'. A child from the area, who was also in the vicinity, would have also been hit by the tree, had he not scurried for cover beneath a garbage van.