Mumbai: Landslide brings wall crashing on slum; family of four went to bed, only one survived

Rescue operation underway at the Mahul mishap spot. Pics/Sameer Markande

I saw my family die in front of my eyes and couldn't do anything to save them," said Akshay Jimur, the lone survivor of his four-member family who were among the 19 who perished after a landslide caused a wall collapse on a few houses on a hillock at Bharatnagar, Mahul, on Saturday night. Jimur, an auto-driver, is recuperating at Rajawadi Hospital.

A rescuer looks for survivors in a mud-filled house at Bharatnagar

The 28-year-old, who got bruises on his legs and right arm, said, "As it was raining heavily, my father, who also ran an auto, and I returned home by 8 pm. We ate our dinner and went to sleep, when suddenly two houses above us fell on ours. For a while, we didn't know what happened. I managed to extricate myself from the rubble by 12.15 am." But his sister Apeksha, 20, mother Meena, 45, and father Suryakant, 47, were not that lucky.

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"It was all muddy and pitch dark. Before the neighbours could come, a live wire fell on my house. Every time I tried entering the rubble of my house, I got an electric shock. I and a few other people tried calling our electricity company's customer care and the fire brigade but didn't get any response," said Jimur.

Akshay Jimur, survivor

He said the fire brigade came after 3.30 am and started the rescue. "Till then, it was too late. My ears are still ringing with my family's cries for help. Had the fire brigade or the customer care of the electricity supplier replied in time, I could have managed to save my family," said Jimur, his eyes welling up.

He said his parents and sister's bodies were removed around 5am-6 am as he watched helplessly. Seven more bodies were pulled out from the debris that included members of the Tiwari and Paradhe families, said Jimur. A total of 19 people died in the incident, said BMC.

Vinod Dhawale, who lives barely 200 metres from the mudslide spot

13-year-old lone survivor

While the entire Tiwari family lost their lives in the landslide, like Jimur, 13-year-old Diksha Paradhe is the lone survivor of her five-member family. Diksha, who is admitted in Chembur's Shiv Hospital with a head injury and a fractured hand, is not aware that her 10-year-old brother, 15-year-old sister and parents are no more. "She has been asking about her family. We don't have the heart to tell her about their demise," said Suhas Gangwane, a relative who reached the site by 12.30 am. "We tried our best to take them out of the rubble but because of the live electricity wire, we could do nothing but stand still," Gangwane said.

Survivor Diksha Paradhe's mother and sister who died in the incident

By 3 pm, extended families of Tiwari, Paradhe and Jimur gathered outside Rajawadi Hospital to take the bodies of their loved ones. "We are shattered. I wish the authorities had acted in time. We could have saved many lives and not watched them die like this," said Gangwane.

‘Scariest moment'

Lakshmi Gangwane, one of the survivors, at Rajawadi Hospital. Her three daughters and husband are also recuperating

Lakshmi Gangwane, 40, was admitted with her 15-year-old daughter Vishakha at Rajawadi with head injuries. Doctors said they are in stable condition. The two were shifted from Chembur's Shiv Hospital where her husband and two other daughters are recuperating.

Names of victims in the Mahul landslide put up outside Rajawadi Hospital on Sunday

"We were about to sleep when the landslide happened. It was the scariest moment. Suddenly, everything around me was dark. I could hear screams for help as I too looked around for help," said Vishakha. Her uncle Vinod Gangwane, who shifted the mother-daughter duo to Rajawadi said, "We learnt about the incident early morning and rushed there. Luckily, all of them are alive and well."

‘How will I face my wife?'

Belongings of a family amidst the rubble at Bharatnagar

Vinod Dhawale struggled for words as he tried to describe his loss. Dhawale, who lives barely 200 metres from the mudslide-hit spot, said, "I am yet to tell my wife that her father Pandit, mother Chhaya and sisters Prachi and Pallavi are no more. We had just met on Saturday afternoon." He said Pallavi, 40, his sister-in-law, decided to stay back while her two children came and stayed with his family and survived the landslide.

6 am
Approx time when rescuers pulled out bodies of Jimur's family members

3
No. of family members Jimur lost in the tragedy