Mumbai, Sep 20: A tragic incident marred the Ganesh festival celebrations in Mumbai Lalbaug area after an electric shock near the pandal left two people dead and four others injured early on Sunday, officials said.

An 8-year-old girl died in the incident, while four others sustained serious injuries. A second death was reported later, when officials said a woman at Global Hospital had also succumbed to her injuries.

According to preliminary information from the fire brigade, the incident occurred at around 2 a.m. on Sunday when devotees were present near the pandal.

Two boys and three girls, aged between 8 and 20, reportedly came into contact with the electrical current and suffered burn injuries.

Following the incident, all five victims were rushed to Masina Hospital in Byculla for treatment. Doctors declared the 8-year-old girl Raghni Ghanshyam Yadav dead upon arrival.

Kiran Akbar Naik, 19, Tanvi Narsh Hande, 19, Sahil Sandip Tare, 19, and Ruhi Singh, 12, were undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the incident.

Meanwhile, a second victim, a woman who was admitted to Global Hospital in Parel, later succumbed to her injuries. Her identity was yet to be ascertained.

Among the injured, one girl was reportedly in critical condition and was shifted to Global Hospital in Parel for further treatment. The remaining three injured victims are undergoing treatment at Masina Hospital and have been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), where their condition remains serious.

The incident has cast a pall of gloom over the festive celebrations in the Kalachowki area.

Further details on the circumstances that led to the electrical current spreading are awaited.

Mumbai, Sep 20: Three people were killed, and another was critically injured in a serious accident involving a high-end car on the Mumbai Coastal Road early on Sunday, officials said.

According to information received from the Coastal Road Control Room, the accident occurred at around 5.20 a.m. near Lotus Jetty, opposite Lala College.

The car was travelling from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali when the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle, reportedly due to overspeeding.

Following the accident, all four occupants of the car were rushed to Nair Hospital, where emergency medical teams assessed their condition.

According to an update issued by the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Nair Hospital at around 8.40 a.m., three of the occupants were declared brought dead by doctors.

Among those who died were a 21-year-old and a 17-year-old, while the identity and other details of the deceased were yet to be ascertained.

The fourth occupant, a 20-year-old male, sustained serious injuries in the accident and was admitted to the trauma ward of Nair Hospital. His condition was reported to be critical, according to the hospital authorities.

Further details regarding the identities of the deceased and the exact circumstances of the accident are awaited.

Police are investigating the case.

On September 3, several people were booked after Mumbai Police took cognisance of a viral video showing luxury and high-performance cars speeding and racing dangerously inside the Marine Drive-Southbound Coastal Road tunnel.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, three people were critically injured after a speeding off-road SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) hit them near PKC Hospital in Vashi, Navi Mumbai.

The driver fled the spot after the crash instead of helping the injured.

The accused was booked under relevant sections; however, he was not arrested. Police issued him a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and subsequently released him.

Mumbai, Sep 20: The aunt of the minor girl victim in the fatal electrocution incident near a Ganesh pandal in the Kalachowki area here on Sunday said that they had come to seek blessings of Lord Ganesh for the first time when the horrific incident occurred.

The tragic incident unfolded during the Ganesh festival celebrations near Kalachowki’s Mahaganpati pandal when the 8-year-old girl died after getting electrocuted. Four others sustained serious injuries. A second death was reported later, when officials said a woman in a hospital had also succumbed to her injuries.

Speaking to media, Kismati Yadav said they reached the area at around 2 a.m., joined the queue at around 2.15 a.m., and the incident occurred at around 2:40 a.m.

“There was a huge crowd, so we thought we would not go further and would take the child from the side. There was a shop selling ice cream and cold drinks, and there was some space there. We thought we would skip offering prayers, stand near the shop, and then return home. But as soon as we reached the shop, the crowd moved in there too, and chaos broke out,” she said.

The shopkeeper had put up a plastic sheet over his stall to protect it from the rain, she said. “Rainwater had collected on the plastic sheet. When the crowd pushed the water off the sheet, it came down on the people standing directly below it, and they were electrocuted,” she added.

Asked where they had come from, the victim’s aunt said they had travelled from Mankhor, Mandala, to witness Ganpati for the first time.

“We had come to see Ganpati for the first time in our lives, and this is how we were punished,” she said.

“I think the electric current had already entered the water. There were tables set up there…”

About their demands, she said, “Our child was taken away. She will not come back. No one should ever have to face something like this. We are poor. We had come from Uttar Pradesh to see Ganpati. Please share our ordeal with as many people as possible so that something like this never happens again. Our child will not come back.”