As many as 20 people were injured after falling into a gutter near the foot-over bridge (FOB) of Vasai railway platform 1 during the rush hour on Tuesday, when the gutter slab suddenly caved in. The fire brigade officials pulled the injured out and rushed them to the nearby Ravi hospital.

The slab over the 10ft-deep nullah caved in around 9am, while office-goers were rushing to board. After the incident, a stampede-like situation starting developing, but was quickly brought under control.

As many as seven people sustained severe limb injuries. The videos of the unfortunate incident went viral on the internet.

Naresh Mishra, an employee with a firm in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), who suffered minor bruises on his legs, said, "It happened all of a sudden. As the crowd swelled, the slab over the gutter caved in. The documents I was carrying also got spoiled."

Rashmi Aggarwal, an eye-witness, said, "I was just about to walk towards the FOB when I saw people falling into the 10ft-deep nullah. Fortunately, it was not filled to the brim. Otherwise, somebody might have drowned as well."

Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation chief Satish Lokhande said, "That nullah was constructed nearly 15 years ago. The railways should not have built an FOB near it. Our engineers have visited the spot and the railways have agreed to repair the nullah."