A 35-year-old man, Rahul Ashok Patil, son of former Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) Deputy Mayor Ashok Patil, died after a coconut tree collapsed onto his moving two-wheeler during heavy monsoon rain and strong winds in Maharashtra's Thane district.
The incident took place on Wednesday evening in the Sadanand Nagar area of Rai village in Bhayandar. According to officials, Rahul Patil, a resident of Murdhagaon, was returning home after refuelling his scooter at a nearby petrol station when the uprooted coconut tree suddenly fell on him, causing severe neck and back injuries, according to NDTV.
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Local residents rushed to the spot and rescued Patil from beneath the fallen tree before taking him to a nearby hospital. He was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in critical condition, where he battled for his life for two days before succumbing to his injuries on Friday, officials said.
The accident comes amid a series of rain-related incidents across Maharashtra. This marks the first official rain-related fatality in Mira-Bhayandar for the current monsoon season.
Earlier this week, an 11-year-old schoolboy was killed. Four others were injured after a tree uprooted and fell on a school bus in Mumbai's Chembur area.
In another rain-related tragedy on Thursday, 55-year-old Aslam Esaf Shaikh died after falling into an open manhole around 12:30 pm on Khairani Road. He was rushed to Rajawadi Hospital, where doctors declared him 'brought dead'.
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The tragic fatality occurs amid a sharp surge in tree-fall incidents across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Driven by relentless rain and powerful winds over the past three days, civic authorities have already recorded 20 tree-fall cases within the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation limits and another 19 incidents across the neighbouring Vasai-Virar region, as per Hindustan Times.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast continued heavy rainfall across parts of Maharashtra over the coming days, with authorities remaining on alert for further rain-related incidents.
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