A huge 22-foot Ganesh idol suddenly fell on a crowd during a procession in Mumbai’s Bhuleshwar area. The tragic incident, which happened just before the main Ganeshotsav festival, has left two people dead and five injured.
Two people have died and five others are injured after a massive Ganesh idol collapsed during a procession in Mumbai. The accident happened late last night, around 10 PM, at Jai Ambe Chowk on Dr. Atmaram Merchant Road in Bhuleshwar.
The incident took place during the ‘Aagman’ procession, which is a welcoming ceremony for the idol ahead of the main Ganeshotsav festival. The huge 22-foot idol, belonging to the popular ‘Bhuleshwar Cha Raja’ festival committee, was being brought to its pandal when it toppled over onto the crowd.
The police have identified the deceased as Sanket Nevshe and 38-year-old Brijesh Hemant Joshi. Sanket Nevshe was reportedly the president of the Ganpati Mandal, the festival’s organizing committee.
The idol was being transported on a trolley from Lalbaug, where sculptor Aniket Desai made it, to a temporary pandal in Bhuleshwar. The tragedy occurred just as the procession was about to reach its destination. The idol suddenly tilted to one side and came crashing down on the people below.
The impact was so severe that the idol shattered into three pieces. According to fire force officials, the injured were mostly those sitting on the trolleycarrying the idol.
A preliminary investigation by the fire force suggests that the accident may have been caused by faulty welding on the iron frame that was holding the idol. This could have caused the structure to give way from the middle, leading to the fall. The DB Marg police have registered a case of unnatural death and have started an investigation into the incident.