Ten injured as crane topples onto houses in Mumbai's Kurla

Ten people, including a three-month-old baby were injured after a crane toppled onto houses in Mumbai's Kurla East early Friday morning (Aug 21st) during preparations for demolition work, a civic official said.

The incident, which also disrupted goods train movement in the area, occurred around 3 am near the site of an upcoming 17-storey building in Indira Nagar, officials said.

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said a hydraulic crane was being used to lift a Poclain machine brought to the site. During the operation, part of the crane fell onto a high-tension railway overhead wire, nearby houses in Qureshi Nagar, the road at Samrat Ashok Nagar, and the compound wall of an MHADA building, besides crushing three to four vehicles parked inside the compound.

A three-month-old baby, a 10-year-old boy and eight other people were injured, officials said. Eight of the injured were admitted to the civic-run Sion Hospital, while two others were taken to Bhabha Hospital, another corporation-run facility in Kurla. Hospital authorities said all the injured were in stable condition.

The victims were identified as Jagrulla Nabi Mohd Khan (63), Ahemed Niyaz Ahemed (3 months), Atikur Reman (60), Hakum Sheikh (36), Numan Khan (21), Rehman Khan (19), Suraj Gaur (10), Akbar (40), Raju Gaud (35) and Aarti Gaud (30).

Civic officials clarified that the work had no connection to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), as reported earlier, and was instead being carried out by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA).

In a statement, the MMRDA said preparations for demolition were under way at Building No. 1, Bhandari Metallurgy, in Kurla, and that a crane had been brought to the site for the job. "While the crane was being positioned at the site, it tilted and fell towards an adjoining structure. The ground at the location was soft, which appears to have affected the stability of the crane," the agency said.

The statement said some people sustained "minor injuries" and that the authority was providing "all necessary medical assistance and support" to them. Officials said MMRDA had mobilised machinery and manpower to clear the fallen crane on a priority basis. "The site has been secured, and all necessary precautionary measures are being taken," the statement said.

The crane also struck the overhead electric equipment of the single-line Kurla-Trombay goods route of Central Railway, disrupting goods movement, though passenger services were unaffected, officials said.