A 70-year-old woman was crushed to death after a tree fell on her at Virar in Maharashtra's Palghar district, but her body remained unnoticed under the tree and was recovered after locals complained of foul smell, officials said on Saturday.

The incident of tree collapse occurred on June 19, they said.

"The victim, Manjula Jha, stepped out of home to visit a temple around 6.30 am, but a large tree fell on her on the way. After she failed to return home till late night, her family launched a frantic search to no avail. Her son then lodged a missing person's report at the Arnala police station," district disaster management cell chief Vivekanand Kadam said.

Two days later, the residents complained of a foul smell emanating from near the collapsed tree. After that, a local rescue team and that of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) started removing the tree from the spot, when they found a partially decomposed body of the elderly woman trapped under it, he said.

The deceased woman was later identified by her son and her body was sent for a post-mortem procedure to a government hospital, the official said, adding that a case of accidental death was registered.

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