Overview
- A roadside peepal tree fell onto a Universal High School van in Chembur on Tuesday, killing 11-year-old Vihan Shrivastav and injuring four other children who were taken to nearby hospitals.
- Local residents, the bus conductor and the Mumbai Fire Brigade used cutting tools and heavy machinery to free trapped pupils and complete rescue and medical care for the survivors.
- The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has set up a high-level committee to report within eight days and has suspended Assistant Garden Superintendent Jagdish Bhoir and Junior Engineer Arun Munde pending departmental probes.
- BMC officials say the tree was surveyed and pruned before the monsoon but that recent cement concretisation and drain works near the trunk may have damaged roots and contributed to the uprooting.
- The accident has intensified scrutiny of Mumbai’s pre-monsoon tree management and construction oversight, with calls for expert arborist involvement and for faster citywide inspections after the civic body reported large-scale pruning and removals this year.