Moshi Garbage Dump Collapse: 6 More Rescued Alive, 12 Still Feared Trapped; NDRF, Army Continue Rescue Operation
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pimpri-Chinchwad, 8th July 2026: Rescue teams working round the clock at the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation’s (PCMC) Moshi garbage depot have rescued six more people alive from the debris after a massive garbage mound collapsed onto a building on Wednesday afternoon. Authorities said the operation is continuing on a war footing, with around 12 people still feared trapped.
The incident occurred at around 1.30 pm, when a heap of garbage from the Moshi waste depot reportedly slid onto a building, trapping around 23 people inside.
According to the PCMC, five people managed to escape immediately after the incident, while rescue personnel have since safely extricated six more individuals from the debris by 8 pm, taking the total number of survivors to 11. Rescue operations are continuing to locate and rescue the remaining people believed to be trapped.
The operation is being jointly carried out by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Indian Army, the PCMC Fire Brigade, the PMRDA Fire and Disaster Response Team, police personnel and medical teams. Heavy machinery, including JCB excavators, is being used to remove debris while ensuring the safety of those trapped underneath.
Those rescued have been shifted to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial (YCM) Hospital and nearby private hospitals for treatment.
Senior officials, including PCMC Municipal Commissioner Dr Vijay Suryawanshi and Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner Vinoy Kumar Choubey, are present at the site and are closely monitoring the rescue efforts.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Minister for Water Resources and Disaster Management, Girish Mahajan, visited the accident site and reviewed the ongoing rescue operation. He was accompanied by MLAs Mahesh Landge and Shankar Jagtap, Mayor Ravi Landge, Standing Committee Chairman Abhishek Barne, and Leader of the House Prashant Shitole, among other officials.
Speaking to reporters, Mahajan said the accident was triggered after continuous rainfall over the past two days caused a massive garbage mound to collapse onto the building.
“Of the 23 people trapped in the incident, five came out on their own immediately after the collapse. Rescue teams have since safely rescued six more people. Around 12 people are still believed to be trapped. We have established communication with three of them, but debris has fallen on their legs. Efforts are underway to carefully remove the rubble and bring them out safely. All available resources have been deployed, and we expect the rescue operation to be completed by Thursday morning,” he said.
The six people rescued during the operation have been identified as Somnath Shelke, Sachin Davadgaon, Dadasaheb Arde, Sujata Shinde, Rampratap Chavan, and Ranveer Singh.
The five people who escaped immediately after the collapse are Ashok Gupta, Munendra Kumar, Chandrashekhar Singh, Dinesh Sutar, and Sri Bala.
Rescue operations were continuing at the time of filing this report, and authorities said every effort is being made to ensure the safe evacuation of those still trapped beneath the debris.
