Mumbai:
Two people were crushed to death, and five others were injured after a 22-foot Ganesh idol fell on them during the arrival ceremony of the ‘Bhuleshwaracha Raja’ in south Mumbai last night.
The incident occurred around 10 pm on Balaram Merchant Road in Mumbai’s Bhuleshwar.
According to preliminary information, the idol fell due to some loose nuts and bolts in its frame.
The Mumbai Fire Brigade, Mumbai Police, traffic police, 108 ambulance service, and civic ward staff were immediately mobilised at the incident spot, officials said.
Mumbai, Maharashtra: A 22-foot Ganpati idol, Bhuleshwar Cha Raja, fell while being transported from Byculla to Bhuleshwar in Mumbai, around 50 metres before the pandal. The incident left 5 people injured and 2 dead pic.twitter.com/tdSvrfat0A
— IANS (@ians_india) August 22, 2026
Officials said that the victims were rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment, where doctors declared two of them dead.
The two victims have been identified as Sanket Nevshe (33) and Brijesh Hemant Joshi (30).
The rest of the five injured people have been identified as Vaibhav Ghenand (38) and Pawan Chaurasia (25) – who are undergoing treatment at the GT Hospital, and Lavanya Ganer (5), Divya Ganer (7), and Kunal Kashid (26) – who are being treated at the JJ Hospital.
All the injured victims are in a stable condition, officials said.
In Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra, the ‘Ganeshotsav’ is one of the biggest and most widely celebrated festivals. During the celebrations, people bring Ganesh idols home or to pandals and perform an arrival ceremony to worship them. Mumbai’s tallest Ganesh idol is the ‘Mumbaicha Raja’, standing at approximately 45 to 47 feet.
