Two men die after suspected toxic fumes enter public toilet in Goregaon

The deceased have been identified as Bhavin Desai, 18, and Prabhakar Dhivar, 25. The two were members of a local Ganpati mandal and were at Shivshankar Nagar, near Ram Mandir railway station, along with six others to dismantle the pandal after the festivities

MUMBAI: Two men died after allegedly inhaling toxic fumes while using a public toilet near Mrunaltai Gore Bridge in Goregaon East in the early hours of Sunday. Police suspect that fumes from sulphuric acid used at an adjacent metal plating workshop may have entered the toilet through underground chambers.

iMumbai, India - September 27, 2026: Family members of the Two men, identified as Prabhakar Dhanivar, 24, and Bhavin Desai, 18, died after reportedly suffering suffocation inside a public toilet near Mrunaltai Bridge, opposite the Parsi Panchayat Gate in Ram Mandir (East) in mumbai, India, on Sunday, September 27, 2026. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The deceased have been identified as Bhavin Desai, 18, and Prabhakar Dhivar, 25. The two were members of a local Ganpati mandal and were at Shivshankar Nagar, near Ram Mandir railway station, along with six others to dismantle the pandal after the festivities.

The incident took place around 2.30am when the group stopped for dinner. Desai and Dhivar then went to freshen up at the public toilet. When the two did not return after about 15 minutes, the others knocked on the doors and found them unconscious.

They were rushed to Trauma Care Hospital in Jogeshwari, where a doctor declared them brought dead at 3.49am, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Vanrai police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) and are investigating whether the deaths were caused by fumes from the metal plating unit located next to the toilet. The bodies have been sent to Siddharth Hospital for post-mortem examination.

Abdul Rauf Shaikh, senior police inspector of Vanrai police station, said police suspect that sulphuric acid fumes from chambers connected to the plating unit may have entered the toilet.

“We are awaiting the post-mortem report to ascertain the cause of their deaths. However, we suspect that fumes of sulphuric acid emitting from the chambers near the toilet, which lead towards the plating unit, might be the cause,” Shaikh said.

Police visited the plating unit after the incident but found that the labourers had fled. The owner was in Uttar Pradesh (UP) at the time, Shaikh said. “A team has been sent to UP to bring the owner of the plating unit to Mumbai. An FIR will be lodged after the post-mortem report,” he said.

The parents of the deceased, who were at the Trauma Care Hospital, said they were yet to receive any communication from the police regarding the investigation.