In a major mishap in Thane, a granite slab from an under-construction metro collapsed on the road in the Mira Bhayandar area, causing havoc among the passersby and residents. The incident took place around 11:50 am at the Medetiya Nagar metro Line 9 (Dahisar to Mira Bhayandar) when work on Line 9 of the Mumbai metro was underway.

The debris from the Mumbai metro slab collapse punctured a school van’s tires, which was passing the area after the incident.

Mumbai metro slab collapses: How it happened

The MMRDA has said that the slab collapsed when a crane, while moving a construction-material lifting container, accidentally crashed into some stacked granite stones near the FOB area, causing some to fall.

Images and videos showed broken concrete slabs and tiles scattered on a road under the under-construction Medetiya Nagar metro station.

No casualties or injuries were reported in the Mumbai metro slab collapse incident.

A school van parked near the incident site was also seen in the images, leading to circulation of reports that the granite had fallen on the school van. The MMRDA refuted the claims and said, “We would like to clarify that no granite stones fell on or directly struck any school van/bus in the incident.”

“The granite stones fell within the barricaded work area. Subsequently, a vehicle passing through the vicinity ran over some scattered pieces of granite, resulting in punctured tyres. No students were present in the vehicle, and no injuries were reported,” it said.

While contractor J Kumar has been fined Rs 10 crore, Gajanan – the contractor for station integration – and Systra-CEG – the general consultant – have been ordered to pay Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively. J Kumar has, however, claimed that he had no role in the incident.

Subrata Das Adhikary, the project manager, wrote to the police and mentioned: “The incident appears to have occurred due to misjudgement of the crane operator…and the said activity and operation were under the control of M/s N.A. Gajanan Construction.”

Shifting the blame on Gajanan Construction, Adhikary said, “J Kumar had earlier provided and fixed the safety railing as part of the safety arrangements. However, the said railing was subsequently removed by the finishing contractor, M/s N.A. Gajanan Construction, for carrying out material shifting activities.

The Nashik facility, known for producing Russian-origin fighter aircraft, is also involved in manufacturing the indigenous light combat aircraft.

Besides new production, the facility is expected to play a key role in a major upgrade of the existing Su-30MKI fleet. The proposed upgrade, estimated at ₹60,000 crore, may be carried out with support from the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), with several major components likely to be sourced from the private sector, as per the report.

The upgrade is planned in two phases. The first phase will focus on new avionics and radars, while the second will address flight control systems. The program may include a new indigenous radar capable of detecting and engaging targets at much greater distances. Radar capability in older Su-30MKI aircraft has been a concern for the Indian Air Force.

The first phase is also expected to introduce a new electronic warfare system to jam incoming threats, along with infrared search-and-track systems to improve the aircraft’s targeting ability, the report stated.