55-year-old woman dies after tree falls on Ganesh pandal in Thane

Heavy rains lashed Thane for the second consecutive day on Friday evening, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning

A 55-year-old woman died and four others injured after a tree fell on a Ganesh pandal in Thane on Friday night, officials said.

Four people were injured after the tree fell on the Ganesh pandal and he condition of a 30-year-old man is serious. (Praful Gangurde/HT photos)

Out of those injured, the condition of a 30-year-old man is serious and he is being treated in a private hospital, they added.

This is the third rain related death in Thane in the last couple of days as heavy rains lashed the city for the second consecutive day on Friday evening, accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning. On Thursday, two people drowned due to flooding in the city.

The deceased Rajashree Walavalkar had gone to visit the pandal along with Pratik Walavalkar, 30. The tree fell on Kolbad Mitra Mandal’s pandal damaging a part of it along with two vehicles.

“The incident took place around 8 in the evening when due to the storm a huge tree came crashing down on the pandal. A few people had taken shelter inside to escape the heavy rain. Rajashree suffered injuries on her hip while Pratik on his hip and eyes. Rajashree succumbed during treatment. Three more persons suffered minor injuries,” said Avinash Sawant, chief officer of the Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) in Thane.

The tree was removed using a JCB and a Hydra machine by RDMC and pandal volunteers. The idol did not suffer any damage and the immersion was done after removing the tree.

On Thursday, a 4-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man drowned in floods in Thane.