Mumbai Landslip: Seven Bodies Taken From Rajawadi Hospital, Victims Identified

MUMBAI: The death toll from Wednesday's landslip in Mumbai's Kurla area rose to at least seven, with officials confirming that the bodies of all seven deceased have been taken from Rajawadi Hospital for post-mortem and subsequent handover to families. The victims have been identified, though authorities have not yet released the full list publicly.

Rescue efforts remain under way at the collapse site, with teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Mumbai Fire Brigade, and local police working through debris to ensure no one is trapped. The landslip struck amid heavy monsoon rains that have lashed the city over the past 48 hours, triggering multiple incidents of soil erosion and structural collapse.

Family of four among dead in Ghatkopar

In a separate but equally tragic incident, a family of four was killed in a landslide in Ghatkopar, a residential suburb in Mumbai's eastern flank. The victims—reportedly a couple and their two children—were residents of a chawl, a type of tenement housing common in the city's older neighbourhoods. Their deaths have brought the total number of fatalities across both incidents to at least 13, though officials have not yet confirmed a combined figure.

The Ghatkopar landslide occurred early Wednesday morning, crushing the single-storey chawl structure under tonnes of mud and rock. Six people were killed and four others injured in that incident, according to initial reports. The injured have been admitted to nearby hospitals, with two in critical condition.

Political fallout begins

The twin tragedies have triggered immediate political reactions. A Congress Member of Parliament has alleged negligence by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in carrying out pre-monsoon works, claiming that inadequate drainage and slope stabilisation measures contributed to the disasters. The BMC has not yet issued a formal response to the allegations.

Municipal authorities have, however, ordered a structural audit of all chawls and buildings situated on or near slopes in the city's eastern suburbs. Similar audits were conducted after the 2019 landslips in Malin and other areas, but implementation of recommended fixes has been inconsistent, a civic official admitted on condition of anonymity.

Rain wreaks havoc across Mumbai

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for Mumbai and neighbouring districts, predicting extremely heavy rainfall over the next 24 hours. Several low-lying areas, including parts of Kurla, Ghatkopar, and Chembur, are waterlogged, leading to traffic snarls and disruption of suburban train services on the Central and Harbour lines.

Schools and colleges in the affected zones have been closed, and the BMC has advised residents in landslide-prone areas to move to temporary shelters. The city's disaster management cell has set up helplines and is coordinating with NGOs for relief distribution.

Rescue teams are using sniffer dogs and thermal cameras to search for any remaining survivors under the debris. The operation has been hampered by continuous rainfall, which is increasing the risk of further collapse at the landslip sites.

What to watch

As the rain continues, the focus will shift to the BMC's response and whether the pre-monsoon audit reports, if made public, reveal systemic failures. The political blame game is likely to intensify in the coming days, with municipal elections due next year. For now, the immediate priority remains clearing debris and ensuring the safety of residents in vulnerable zones.