Over 36 flamingos died reportedly after an Emirates aircraft rammed into the flock of birds in the Mumbai Ghatkopar area. According to a wildlife welfare group representative, the carcasses of over 36 birds have been recovered from the Rasika Restaurant and Bar in Laxmi Nagar in the Pant Nagar area of Ghatkopar.
The incident was confirmed by the Maharashtra Forest Department (MFD) and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS). "From the scene, it seemed that the cause of death was a hit by an aeroplane," BNHS Director Kishor Rithe told reporters.
The incident came to light after calls from people who spotted the dead birds began to pour in at the Forest Department on Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) founder and honorary wildlife warden with the forest department Pawan Sharma said the forest department's mangrove cell, along with the RAWW team, launched a search operation during which the bloody remains of the birds were found in the area. "The carcasses were sent for an autopsy to find out the exact cause of the death," Sharma told reporters.
Reports quoting airport sources said EK 508, an Emirates flight, reported a bird hit on arrival at 9.18 pm. The flight, which suffered damages, landed safely at Mumbai airport. However, the return flight - bound for Dubai - had to be cancelled.
Meanwhile, the incident has triggered speculations about what might have caused the tragic incident. Environmentalist D Stalin on NGO Vanshakti told Hindustan Times that the new power lines through the Thane Creek Wildlife Sanctuary area could have caused disorientation to the birds. He added that authorities should have never permitted the power lines to pass through the sanctuary. "Alternate routes were many. While giving permissions for power lines (earlier, it was not allowed inside sanctuaries) the wildlife board meekly surrendered to the power company. Instead, the Thane Creek Wildlife Sanctuary was bulldozed and towers erected," Stalin alleged.
Last week, the BNHS submitted a study report to the Maharastra government urging it to replace the Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights with Low-Pressure Sodium lights in the DPS Lake area of the satellite township of Navi Mumbai following the recent deaths of flamingos. They also called for the restoration of tidal water flow in the DPS Lake.