At least 12 people were killed and six others injured after a compound wall collapsed in the Malad area of Mumbai on Tuesday due to heavy rains, officials of the National Disaster Response Force said. Authorities have declared Tuesday as a public holiday in Mumbai as the Indian Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rains.
The incident happened around 2am when the compound wall in Pimpripada of Malad East area collapsed and people living in shanties adjacent to the wall got trapped under the debris.
NDRF officials said the 12 deceased were the people living in the slums. "Our team of National Disaster Response Force along with sniffer dog reached the site of the incident immediately after receiving the information. Besides, a team of fire brigade and local police also reached the spot and took the control of the situation," a senior NDRF official said. He said the police is investigating the case.
"Rescue operations are under way and more details are awaited. The injured are in nearby civic hospital in Jogeshwari and Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali," he said. In Kalyan in Thane district, three people, including a three-year-old boy, were killed after the wall of a school collapsed on two houses.
"In the wake of the extreme heavy rainfall forecast by the IMD, the Government of Maharashtra has declared a public holiday on July 2 as a precautionary measure for Mumbai city and its citizens," a civic official said.
The main runway of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport was closed late on Monday night after a SpiceJet flight overshot the runway while landing in heavy rain. The accident and heavy rain led to the diversion of at least 54 flights to nearby airports. IndiGo, Vistara and SpiceJet informed passengers early on Tuesday to check updates of flight information given likelihood of delays. Vistara has cancelled 10 flights for Tuesday.
The Central Railway has also decided to run local trains in limited corridors due to waterlogging on the railway tracks.
"Trains will run in CSMT-Andheri-Goregaon section in Harbour Line, Vashi to Panvel in Harbour Line, Thane to Vashi and Panvel in Trans-harbour Line and CSMT to Thane Karjat and Khopoli sections," Sunil Udasi, the chief spokesperson of the Central Railway, said.
He said the Central Railway, with help of RPF jawans, rescued thousands of passengers stranded in the midnight local trains and served them tea, biscuits and other edible items at stations.
A senior official of the Western Railway said that its suburban services are running between Churchgate and Virar even if the frequency may be less.
"Frequency may be less between Vasai Road and Virar due to receipt of outstation trains," he said.
(With PTI inputs)
