Maharashtra: At least one student killed, 11 others injured in tution class ceiling collapse in Navi Mumbai

A 13-year-old boy was killed, while 11 children were injured, after a section of the concrete ceiling collapsed onto a private tutoring class in Navi Mumbai’s Koparkhairane on Thursday (March 5, 2026). According to an official from the Regional Disaster Management Department, the accident took place between 4.30 and 5.00 PM inside flat-number 2 on the ground floor of Vidyabhavan Apartment in Sector 2. The 53-year-old teacher Shyamali Choudhary was using the flat to teach neighbourhood children. Ms. Choudhary herself suffered minor injuries and was discharged from the hospital after receiving initial medical care.

At the time of the incident, 11 students were in the room when a portion of the upper floor slab suddenly fractured and fell. Emergency responders from the Vashi, Airoli, and Kopar Khairane fire stations arrived and launched a rescue alongside local police. “Fire crews and disaster management teams reached the location and freed all children trapped beneath the rubble. The injured were transported to nearby medical facilities,” stated an official from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC).

Five children Nishika Dhanwade (13), Ayesha Khan (11), Devansh Pujari (12), Siddhant Gupta (9), and Rajdeep Varkhade (11) were admitted to Apex Hospital in Kopar Khairane. Another child, Aaradhya Dhanwade, was found unharmed and was taken home by family members. Parth Khairnar (12), a resident of the first floor who was not attending the class, was also hurt and taken to Sai Jyot Hospital.

Other injured students, including Tanvi Sachin Srivastava (10), Rudra Pravin Patil, Prince Soni (14), Kulsum Khan (13), and Manish Mhase, received care at Lions Club Hospital in the vicinity. Manish, aged 13, suffered critical head injuries and was moved to the NMMC hospital in Vashi, where he later passed away while receiving treatment.

In the aftermath, Mayor Sujata Patil, Deputy Mayor Dashrath Bhagat, and NMMC Commissioner Dr. Kailas Shinde visited the scene to assess the situation and later checked on the hospitalized children. Dr. Shinde instructed the civic engineering wing to carry out a structural evaluation of the building to identify the reason for the slab failure and ensure the structure’s stability. Officials confirmed that the ceiling of the hall within the flat had caved in, showering debris onto the students beneath.

Dr. Shinde noted that the building, which contains 16 apartments, is nearly 28 years old. “It was built in 1998, and residents have occupied it for roughly 28 years. It is a sanctioned construction. The society carried out repairs about a year ago, but no work was performed on the roof slab,” he explained.

As a safety measure, the NMMC has evacuated all residents from the building. Temporary shelter has been arranged for them at Annasaheb Patil Cultural Bhavan in Kopar Khairane, according to an NMMC representative.