In a tragic incident that has come to light from Mumbai city, at least 29 flamingos were found dead at different locations in Ghatkopar area on Tuesday, said a report in PTI quoting a wildlife welfare group representative. The cause of the deaths is stated as a mid-air collision of the birds with an aircraft. However, it will be confirmed after the autopsy is done.
According to the report, several calls were received from people about the spotting of dead birds in Ghatkopar, Pawan Sharma, founder of the Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) and honorary wildlife warden with the forest department told the news agency.
Search operation initiated
Acting immediately, the forest department’s mangrove cell along with the RAWW team initiated a search operation and found 29 dead flamingos in the area on Monday night.
NatConnect Foundation, an organisation that works for the welfare of the environment, animals and birds reacted to the tragic death of the flamingos in Ghatkopar.
“Absolutely tragic. Close to flamingos were found dead at Lakhsminagar, Ghatkopar in northeast Mumbai last night. The carcasses were scattered in pieces all over. Some it cd be due to an aircraft,” wrote NatConnect Foundation on X.
Absolutely tragic. Close to flamingos were found dead at Lakhsminagar, Ghatkopar in northeast Mumbai last night. The carcasses were scattered in pieces all over. Some it cd be due to an aircraft@AUThackeray @ranjeetnature @vijaysinghTOI @CMOMaharashtra @mieknathshinde @moefcc pic.twitter.com/fYDd2e1JXE
— NATCONNECT FOUNDATION (@natconnectnow) May 21, 2024
Possible reason behind flamingo deaths
According to initial reports, it is said that the flamingoes might have collided with an aircraft in the air, leading to multiple casualties. Ghatkopar is a suburb very close to the international airport, with a high number of planes flying over the area throughout the day and even in the night. The carcasses were sent for an autopsy to find out the exact cause of the death, as per reports.
(The article is published under a mutual content partnership arrangement between The Free Press Journal and Connected to India)
