At least 16 people were killed in Mumbai and Thane as the cities received heavy rains throughout the day and night on Monday forcing authorities to declare a public holiday amid forecast of more showers.
According to Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials, 13 people died after a wall collapsed on a few hutments built on a hill slope in Kurar village at Malad East.
The incident was reported at around 1am on Tuesday after which the Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) and NDRF officials reached the spot.
According to the fire brigade officials, four people were rescued and have been admitted at the Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali. They said search and rescue operations are still on.
Some people were rescued by locals present there before officials arrived and moved them to hospital in private vehicles. More people could be trapped under the debris, said fire brigade officials.
“Pained to know about the loss of lives in Malad Wall Collapse incidence. My thoughts are with families who lost loved ones & prayers for speedy recovery of injured. ₹5 lakh will be given to the kin of deceased,” chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted with a hashtag MumbaiRains.
School education minister Ashish Shelar confirmed late on Monday night that all schools in Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Palghar will remain shut on Tuesday. Several city colleges have also called the day off after students complained about waterlogging across the city.
“Due to heavy rain forecast in Mumbai even today by IMD, People are advised to stay indoors unless there is any emergency,” Fadnavis’ office tweeted.
At least three people were killed and one injured in a wall collapse incident early on Tuesday in Kalyan, about 40km from Mumbai.
The wall of National Urdu School, opposite Durgadi Fort in Kalyan (West), fell on the nearby hutments killing two women and a three-year-old boy. A 16-year-old girl was also injured in the accident.
The bodies were pulled out of the debris by rescue teams of the Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) fire team, local police and civic officials.
“Four people were trapped inside the debris in a sudden wall collapse of a school. We pulled out three bodies and one suffered severe injuries in the incident,” KDMC fire official Sudhakar Kulkarni said.
“Fire team and police are working on clearing the debris,” he added.
Several local and long-distance trains were cancelled amid reports of tracks being flooded. Western Railway and Central Railway have been updating the status of train lines that are functional on Twitter. Passengers of three suburban trains who got stuck on flooded tracks were evacuated by Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff, Central Railway tweeted.
Those stranded at the Thane railway station were served refreshments by Railway Protection Force (RPF) after several suburban train movements were suspended due to the heavy rains, news agency Asian News International reported.
An aircraft of SpiceJet overshot the main runway 27 while landing at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport from Jaipur on Monday night amid heavy rains.
Authorities have not been able to move the plane as they are waiting for an aircraft removal kit, which is only available with Air India and is yet to reach Mumbai from Mangalore.
Meanwhile, flights are being operated from the lesser efficient secondary runway.
A spokesperson of the Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd. said 54 flights have been diverted from the airport. Several flights to and from Mumbai were delayed and cancelled as well due to the traffic situation at the airport.
“The situation of aircraft movements will gradually improve, once the stuck SpiceJet aircraft is taken out of the muddy area,” said an airport official.
According to flightradar24, flights leaving from Mumbai are delayed by an average of 120 minutes, leading to the cancellation of 33 departing flights and arrival of 22 flights after midnight.
Heavy rain lashed the city for the fourth consecutive day on Monday throwing rail, road and air traffic out of gear. Waterlogging was reported from several parts of the city affecting traffic on major roads.
Heavy rainfall is expected in Mumbai and neighbouring cities between July 3 and July 5.
