Two people were killed and five others were injured after a 22 foot tall Ganesh idol fell on devotees during the arrival ceremony of Bhuleshwaracha Raja in Mumbai's Bhuleshwar area on Saturday night. The incident took place at around 10 pm on Balaram Merchant Road.
Mumbai, Maharashtra: A 22-foot Ganpati idol, Bhuleshwar Cha Raja, fell while being transported from Byculla to Bhuleshwar in Mumbai, around 50 metres before the pandal. The incident left 5 people injured and 2 dead pic.twitter.com/tdSvrfat0A
— IANS (@ians_india) August 22, 2026
The idol was being transported from Byculla to Bhuleshwar and fell around 50 metres before the pandal. The idol reportedly became unbalanced and toppled, crushing people who were around or on the trolley carrying it. Preliminary information suggested that loose nuts and bolts in the idol's supporting frame may have contributed to the collapse.
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The Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mumbai Police, traffic police, 108 ambulance services and civic ward staff were immediately mobilised at the site, officials told NDTV. The injured victims were rushed to nearby hospitals, where doctors declared two of them dead.
The deceased victims have been identified as Sanket Nevshe (33) and Brijesh Hemant Joshi (30). The rest of the five injured people have been identified as Vaibhav Ghenand (38) and Pawan Chaurasia (25) - who are undergoing treatment at the GT Hospital, and Lavanya Ganer (5), Divya Ganer (7), and Kunal Kashid (26) - who are being treated at the JJ Hospital, NDTV reported.
The DB Marg police have registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in connection with the incident, the Times of India reported. Police are conducting further inquiries into the circumstances that led to the idol collapsing.
The Times of India reported that the mandal was celebrating its 63rd Ganeshotsav this year and had commissioned the idol from sculptor Aniket Desai.
The 10-day Ganeshotsav, which begins on September 14 this year, is one of the biggest and most widely celebrated annual festivals in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra. During the festival, the idols of Lord Ganesh, the elephant-headed Hindu deity, are installed and worshipped in pandals and homes. Every year, elaborate arrival processions are organised in Mumbai, with devotees bringing idols to various pandals amid music, celebrations and large gatherings
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