MUMBAI — At least seven people, including two children, were killed after a landslip struck homes in Mumbai's Kurla area early on Wednesday following heavy rain, civic officials said, as rescue teams searched the debris for possible survivors.
The landslip occurred at about 3:48 a.m. at Gaushiya Chawl in Ashok Nagar, Chirag Nagar, where soil and debris from a hillside collapsed onto two to three houses, according to officials cited by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Seven people were declared dead at Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. The BMC identified the victims as Mohammad Samir Ansari, 14; Sahil Husen Abdul Kazi, 19; an unidentified person aged about 45; Aban Arif Shaikh, 2; Manat Arif Shaikh, 4; Marjina Arif Shaikh, 27; and Viket Ramesh Yadav, 27.
Several people were injured. Three injured residents were treated at Rajawadi Hospital and four others at Bhabha Hospital in Kurla, with their conditions reported as stable by civic officials.
Police, BMC personnel, the National Disaster Response Force and other emergency agencies were deployed at the site for rescue operations. Officials said the operation was complicated by the narrow route into the affected settlement, which restricted the movement of heavy rescue equipment.
Rescuers also used a specialised victim-location camera to search gaps beneath the debris for people who might still be trapped. The device uses a camera and microphone mounted on a probe that can be inserted into confined spaces under rubble.
Survivors described the landslip as occurring around 3:30 a.m., when part of the hillside came down on the settlement. Saira Banu, who was rescued from the rubble, told The Indian Express that her house collapsed on her family and that they were trapped before being rescued by officials.
The incident came amid heavy monsoon rainfall in Mumbai. Authorities continued rescue and debris-clearing operations at the site, with officials working to establish whether anyone else remained trapped.
