Three people, including two passengers and an auto-rickshaw driver, died after a large tree fell on their vehicle during heavy winds and a thunderstorm in Kalyan on Tuesday night.
The deceased have been identified as Umashankar Verma (52), an auto-rickshaw driver from Tisgaon in Kalyan East; Tukaram Shamrao Khengale (45); and Lata Dattaram Raut (47), both residents of the Chinchpada area in Kalyan.
The incident occurred around 9:15 PM in the Chinchpada area of Kalyan East. Verma had picked up the two passengers for a ride from Kalyan to Chinchpada. As they reached their destination, a large tree suddenly fell on the moving auto-rickshaw, crushing it and fatally injuring all three occupants. Local residents rushed to the scene and alerted the authorities.
Namdev Chaudhary, Chief of the Fire Department of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation, said, “We received information about the tree fall incident and immediately dispatched a fire engine, a rescue vehicle, and a pickup van to the spot for rescue operations.”
Due to the severe storm, strong winds, and lightning, power supply was disrupted in several parts of Kalyan. The outage made it difficult to cut and remove the tree. Despite the challenges, fire department personnel used torches and tools to remove the branches and extricate the victims. They were promptly taken to Rukhmini Bai Hospital, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.
Police Inspector Ganesh Nhayade of the Kolsewadi police station stated, “We have registered an accidental death report. Further investigation is underway.”
