Kochi: A teenager and her school teacher were injured after a massive branch from a more than a century-old banyan tree crashed onto a bus stop in Eloor during heavy rains on Tuesday morning.

Her class teacher sustained minor injuries in the incident.Revenue officials said the branch of the tree in the compound of Pattupurakkal Bhagavathy Temple fell at around 8.15am, moments after a bus had departed with passengers from the same stop—a stroke of timing that prevented a larger tragedy. Keerthy Krishnakumar (14) suffered severe head injuries and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Edapally, while her teacher, Sleshin Shaju of Eloor North, suffered minor injuries."A portion of the tree fell suddenly across the road. We've informed higher authorities to extend financial aid under the disaster management act," said a revenue official in Eloor, adding that the age and weakening of the tree likely led to the collapse. Fire force personnel took nearly five hours to clear the road by cutting and removing the fallen branch.Meanwhile, rain-related damage continued across the district.

In separate incidents on Monday night and Tuesday, 12 houses were damaged in Aluva taluk, with 10 of them in Malayattoor village hit by falling trees. Several agricultural crops were also destroyed.According to preliminary data from the agriculture department, crops across 3,097 hectares in Ernakulam district were damaged between June 12 and 17, resulting in estimated losses of Rs 5.8 crore. The district was under a yellow alert on Tuesday.Officials warned that continuous rainfall has loosened the soil, increasing the risk of trees falling.