Mumbai, Jun 30 (PTI) A routine trip to home from school turned fatal for an 11-year-old boy in Mumbai on Tuesday when an old roadside peepal tree fell on the school bus in Chembur area, leaving four other students, including a four-year-old girl, injured, officials said.
The incident occurred at 2:58 pm near a building on Road No. 11 when the bus was ferrying 13 students of Universal High School to their homes, they said.
Fire Brigade and other agencies rushed to the spot, and evacuated all students, including the two who remained trapped in the school bus. The bus driver, conductor, and local residents also joined them.
The five injured students, all in the age group of 4 to 12 years, were rushed to a nearby private hospital.
According to the hospital’s medical officer, 11-year-old Vihan Srivastava, who had sustained serious injuries, succumbed to injuries during treatment, while four other injured students are in stable condition.
Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde has ordered a detailed inquiry into the incident.
According to the Mayor’s office, local civic officials informed her that pre-monsoon trimming of roadside trees in the area had been carried out.
“The inquiry would examine whether recent cement concreting work on the road had affected the stability of the tree and whether any complaints had been received from local residents,” the release added.
Tawde rushed to the accident site and reviewed the situation along with Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi, local MLA Tukaram Kate and other officials.
She said strict action would be taken if any negligence was found.
Tawde met with the family members of the deceased student at Zen Hospital and offered condolences. She also enquired about the health of the injured student admitted to the ICU and sought details of the treatment from the doctors.
“Vihan Srivastava’s body has been sent to the civic-run Rajawadi Hospital for post-mortem,” the release stated.
Among the four injured students, a 10-year-old girl was discharged after treatment. Another four-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy are undergoing treatment, while a 10-year-old boy remains admitted to the ICU.
“Doctors said all four surviving injured students are out of danger,” the release added.
Police have registered a case of accidental death, an official added.
A recent drain work and other cement concretisation works may have damaged the roots of the peepal tree, a senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said.
He said the civic body will set up an expert committee to ascertain the exact cause of the incident, and the names of its members are likely to be announced soon.
The official, who inspected the uprooted tree, said prima facie it appeared damage to its roots could have led to the incident, as cement concretisation and drain works had recently been carried out around it.
The official said the tree had undergone pre-monsoon pruning as part of the civic body’s annual monsoon preparedness exercise. PTI KK VT NSK RSY
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