Commuters fall into gutter after concrete slab caves in

As many as 15 commuters fell into a gutter on Tuesday morning after caving in of a cement slab owing to heavy morning rush at platform number one of Vasai railhead. Two commuters sustained fractures and were admitted to a private hospital under medical contract with the Western Railway (WR). Derailment of a long-distance coach at Lower Parel earlier in the day had resulted in heavy rush towards Churchgate and consequent delays.

Commuters were waiting to catch the 0840 hours Churchgate local from platform number one at Vasai, which was delayed. A majority of commuters from Anand Nagar locality were standing on the concrete slab constructed by Vasai-Virar municipal corporation (VVMC) over a gutter that connects to a staircase leading to the platform.

Around 9 am, the slab caved in due to weight of the commuters and 15 of them fell into the 4' gutter that was partially filled with sewage water.

Fellow commuters managed to rescue persons who had fallen into the gutter, said Manish Thakur, president, Anand Nagar Social Circle, who was present at the time of the incident. “I, along with other members of the group, caught hold of some of the commuters but we also alerted the fire brigade which arrived within minutes and rescued the victims,” he said.

Two commuters – Jitesh Nair (36), a resident of Bhayander east and Manish Tiwari, a resident of Vasai — sustained leg injuries and were admitted to a private hospital, said Rarmesh Bhakar, CPRO, WR, while others sustained minor injuries and were discharged after rendering of first aid. “We will not be bearing the medical cost of treatment of the two commuters as the incident occurred on a structure constructed by VVMC,” said Mr Bhakar.

Meanwhile, VVMC will be conducting an inquiry into the entire incident and will bear the medical cost of the injured, said Praveena Thakur, mayor, VVMC, who, along with other corporators, visited the hospital to inquire about the injured commuters.