Mumbai: An oil spill on the Western Express Highway near the Mumbai Airport led to traffic disruption on the northbound stretch of the Western Express Highway on Sunday, with motorists reporting heavy congestion towards the airport.

According to a video shared by Instagram account ‘Nosh.navigate’, the oil spill was reported on the Western Express Highway near the airport. The video shows a man and a woman, who had reportedly fallen from their bike after it skidded on the oil-covered road. Both are seen getting up after the fall, though they appear visibly hurt.

The video later shows an ambulance at the same spot, suggesting that the injured persons were attended to and may have been taken for medical assistance.

Mumbai Traffic Police also issued an alert on X, warning commuters about the oil spill. The police said movement was slow on Centaur Bridge, close to Sahar, on the northbound side due to the spill.

The incident was also flagged by commuters stuck in the traffic jam on the Western Express Highway. User ‘Mandar Natekar’ took to twitter to post a video of he north bound side of the bridge that shows vehicles stuck in traffic as far as the eye can meet, stating ‘Northbound traffic on WEH is totally jammed all the way from the airport flyover to Bandra ! Seems there is some issue on the airport flyover that the police are checking. If you are travelling from Bandra towards Andheri on the WEH pls check for alternate routes.’

Another X user, ‘Jijo_Joseph’, claimed that there was a massive traffic jam on the highway and that traffic had not moved for nearly 45 minutes from Khar to Santacruz, in the same direction towards the airport.

The Mumbai Traffic Police has also reponded to this user stating that the issue has been raised to the Bandra division ‘Thanks for bringing this to our Notice. Bandra Traffic Division has been informed about this.’

Commuters travelling along the western express highway are advised to avoid the western express highway until the oil spills has been cleared.

The incident has once again raised concerns over oil spills on major city roads and the need for quicker response measures to prevent accidents, especially on high-speed corridors such as the Western Express Highway.

Mumbai: Mayor Ritu Tawde conducted an inspection of road concretisation and desilting works on Saturday. During the visit, she instructed civic officials to ensure that completed concretised roads and their drainage pipelines are thoroughly cleaned so that cement-laden water does not enter and cause blockages in the drains. Tawde also directed that water should not be allowed to accumulate along roadside stretches.

Tawde visited in person and inspected the road concretization works in Chembur, as well as the desilting work of Mahul Nala, J.K. Nala, and the Mithi River. During her visit while talking to media she said that, Road concretisation work is progressing rapidly, and instructions have been given to the administration to complete the work before the monsoon. However, she emphasized that while speeding up the work, there should be no compromise on construction quality or standards. Completed roads and their drainage systems should be properly cleaned so that cement-mixed water does not cause blockages in the drains and water does not accumulate along the roadside.

Regarding desilting work, Tawde said that this year the target is to remove 8.28 lakh metric tonnes of silt from drains before the monsoon. As of May 1, 2026, about 45% of this target—approximately 3.76 lakh metric tonnes—has already been completed. She directed that the pace of desilting work should be increased and it must be ensured that all drains are cleared of silt before the monsoon. Protective walls should be constructed along drains wherever necessary. Tawde also suggested that CCTV monitoring facilities be provided so that not only the administration but also local representatives can review the actual status of drain cleaning work. Additionally, she instructed that vehicles transporting silt should be allowed on roads only after their wheels are properly washed, to ensure that mud is not spread on roads and cleanliness is maintained.

Tehran, May 3: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei condemned US President Donald Trump’s remarks that called the US seizure of Iranian vessels “piracy.”

“The president of the United States has openly described the unlawful seizure of Iranian vessels as ‘piracy,’ brazenly boasting that ‘we act like pirates,'” Baghaei said in an X post.

“This was no verbal slip. It was a direct and damning admission of the criminal nature of their actions against international maritime navigation,” Baghaei added.

Trump on Friday bragged that the US Navy acted “like pirates” in its blockade of Iranian ports. “We took over the ship, we took over the cargo, we took over the oil. It’s a very profitable business,” Trump said at an event in Florida, Xinhua news agency reported.

Baghaei called on the international community, UN member states, and the UN secretary-general to firmly reject any normalization of such “blatant violations” of international law.

The United States imposed its anti-Iran blockade on the Strait of Hormuz after post-ceasefire negotiations with Tehran in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on April 11-12 failed to yield an agreement.

The ceasefire between Iran, the United States and Israel took effect on April 8 following 40 days of fighting. On February 28, the United States and Israel launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, senior commanders and civilians.

Iran responded with waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the Middle East, while tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and denying safe passage to vessels linked to Israel and the United States.