Five Senior Citizens Injured as Canopy Collapses in Sion's Pratiksha Nagar

Five senior citizens sustained injuries on Wednesday afternoon after a canopy erected as a shelter collapsed at Raghunath Vitthal Chavan Maidan in Pratiksha Nagar, Sion. The structure collapsed while the elderly residents were taking refuge from the rain inside the maidan's seating area.

The collapsed gazebo was a designated seating shelter for elderly residents, constructed with a galvanized iron frame and a heavy cement-slab roof. When the structure gave way, the roof collapsed completely, trapping the senior citizens beneath the wreckage and triggering panic among local residents.

Following the collapse, nearby passersby and local residents immediately rushed to the spot to assist with rescue efforts. Working quickly before emergency responders arrived, the residents managed to pull all five victims out from under the debris.

The local citizens then organized emergency transport, rushing the injured senior citizens to Sion Hospital in private ambulances prior to the arrival of the fire brigade.

Officials at Sion Hospital identified the five injured individuals as 65-year-old Dhondiram Ghopkar, 79-year-old Ganpat Ambole, 68-year-old Pramila Jadhav, 65-year-old Laxmi Shitliya, and 64-year-old Sunita More. Hospital authorities confirmed that all five victims are currently in stable condition.

The cause of the shelter collapse is yet to be ascertained. A video of the incident has since gone viral on social media, raising fresh questions over the safety of public spaces in the area.