3-yr-old falls into Mankhurd drain, dies

A three-year-old boy, Ayub Sheikh, died after he fell into a seven-metre-deep drain at New MHADA Colony at Mankhurd. He drowned with the force of the water.

A three-year-old boy, Ayub Sheikh, died after he fell into a seven-metre-deep drain at New MHADA Colony at Mankhurd. He drowned with the force of the water.

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Late on Sunday evening, he and his brother Latif (7) were playing outside their house, their mother Nilufer Sheikh —reportedly nine months pregnant — watching over them from their window a few metres away.

Police said around 8.30 pm, in the commotion of a Moharram procession, Ayub fell into the drain. Nilufer witnessed the accident and raised an alarm. Within minutes, locals alerted the police and fire brigade, but the body has
not yet been found despite rescue operations lasting over 24 hours.

Nilufer’s father, Pervez (55), who had a heart condition, died of a heart attack on hearing of his grandson’s accident.

Fire brigade officials present at the scene said the water pipe that Ayub fell into is two km long and stretches from PMGP Nagar in Mankhurd to Ramabai Nagar in Ghatkopar. The depth of the trench at Ghatkopar is around 75 metres, making it almost impossible for rescue operations to be successful.

“Nilufer has told us she saw Ayub fall into the drain. Until we find his body, we will not stop the rescue operation,” said Dilip Sawant, deputy commissioner of police (zone VI).

Bhosle Prasad, a fire control officer at the scene, said: “This drain contains poisonous gases — people cannot survive inside it for more than five minutes at a time, so rescuers need to come back to the surface every five minutes for fresh oxygen. This is why the search is going so slow.”

“The drain lid was stolen by locals some 15 days ago, and sold for around Rs 150. Despite repeated attempts to get in touch with the corporation, nothing has happened,” said an irked resident of New MHADA colony.

Nilufer’s husband Salaam Sheikh works as a driver in Saudi Arabia. “We have searched for about 1.5 km, we should have carried on the search until three km,” said Mayor Shradhha Jadhav.

“We have opened and checked more than 55 manholes throughout the day,” said Deputy Municipal Commissioner D.L. Shinde.