Two women stood on a wooden ladder in their shanty for over two hours out of the fear of getting electrocuted after a wall near their locality collapsed in Mumbai's Mahul area on Sunday following heavy rains.
Fifteen people died after the compound wall came crashing down on some houses located on a hillock after a landslide at Bharatnagar locality in Mahul around 1 am, an official said.
Laxmi Jongankar (40) was inside her shanty when people outside started shouting about the wall collapse in the area. She opened the window of her house and saw other shanties were destroyed. But, she did not notice that the debris has entered her house also and damaged it.
“As people panicked and start shouting that electric current spread in the locality, I along with another woman relative stood on a wooden ladder in my shanty. After more than two hours, a man came to enquire about us and asked us to come out," she said.
The woman said she opened the door and managed to come out of the house with the help of a wooden stick. Local resident Bhaudas Rangarvarpe said the wall collapsed because of the landslide.
"Since the wall was too old, it fell on the adjoining shanties," he said.
Another local, Rafique, who along with some other people helped the rescue team in pulling out bodies from the debris, said the incident took place because of the heavy rains.
"All members of one family are suspected to have died of electrocution in the incident," he said.
Published 18 July 2021, 08:36 IST