Mumbai Rain: Bus Gets Stuck in Pit Near Metro construction Site

Mumbai: A section of the road near Girgaon Metro Station caved in, trapping a BEST bus in a large crater. The incident occurred on Monday morning after heavy rainfall lashed Mumbai, bringing life to a standstill for residents.

No casualty was reported, they said, adding all the passengers were safely evacuated from the bus belonging to the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking.

The incident occurred around 9.30 am on Dr Babasaheb Jaykar Marg near Thakurdwar signal, close to the site of an ongoing underground Metro line construction work, the officials said.

According to BEST, the rear left tyre of the bus, plying on route number 121, sank into a hole formed after a portion of the road caved-in.

The bus, operated by a Tata group company, was on way to J Mehta Marg from Backbay Depot when the incident occurred.

"No passenger was injured," a BEST spokesperson said, adding the bus was later towed away and brought back to the Backbay Depot.

Some locals claimed the pit was about five-foot-deep.

A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said the incident occurred at the junction of Babasaheb Jaykar road and Jagannath Shankar Seth (JSS) road, where work of the underground Girgaon Metro station was in progress.

The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) in a statement said water ingress was observed in the basement pit of the proposed Girgaon rehabilitation building, possibly due to leakage in nearby utilities, which caused an underground cavity not visible at the surface.

"The MMRCL is actively coordinating with BMC officials to trace and address any leakage from water mains, sewer lines or storm water drain network. Necessary measures are being taken to reinstate the affected road section at the earliest and prevent any re-occurrence," the statement said.

With PTI Inputs