Mahalaxmi Express with as many as 700 people stranded
Two military helicopters and six boats of the National Disaster Response Force were sent in to rescue as many as 900 people stranded on board a passenger train about 60 km out of Mumbai on Saturday after heavy rain paralysed the city and its surrounding areas. Hundreds of passengers on the Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express, stuck on the train near Vangani in Thane district since Friday night, appealed for help with videos shot on cellphones on social media.
Air and rail traffic was disrupted in Mumbai after heavy rain continued overnight. Eleven flights were cancelled this morning at the Mumbai airport due to fluctuating visibility. Several flights were diverted too. On streets, residents waded through waist-deep water in many areas.
The weather office has issued an "orange alert" for Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts in Maharashtra and has also predicted heavy rainfall in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai in the next 24 hours. The "orange alert" signifies that authorities should get ready for necessary action.
Here are the Highlights on Mumbai rains:
Train for stranded passengers of Mahalaxmi Express arranged- Maharashtra Chief Minister tweeted that a special train has been arranged for all the passengers of #MahalaxmiExpress from Kalyan to Kolhapur.
All stranded passengers rescued, tweets Maharashtra Chief Minister- Maharashtra Chief Minister tweeted, "Happy to inform that all the passengers stranded in #MahalaxmiExpress have been evacuated safely. Congratulations & Thank you to @NDRFHQ , Army, @indiannavy , Airforce, Police, Indian Railways, Local administration and entire team."
Mumbai-Goa highway shut for traffic due to heavy rains- Mumbai-Goa national highway has been shut for traffic due to flood in the Jagbudi river in coastal Ratnagiri district following heavy rains.
- Torrential rains since Friday night have triggered a flood-like situation in some parts of Thane, Raigad and Ratnagiri districts.
- Savitri and Amba rivers in Mahad and Pali in Raigad district are also in spate following which traffic at Nagothane and on Khopoli-Pali road has been suspended.
- Personnel of disaster response force and police are deployed in those areas to avoid any untoward incident.
All passengers have been rescued from stranded Mahalaxmi Express- All passengers, including nine pregnant women, have been rescued from the Mahalaxmi Express that remains stranded in heavy flood waters near Mumbai.
- The rescue operation picked up after rain subsided a little post-noon, enabling quicker movement of personnel and the evacuated passengers.
Around 500 passengers rescued- Around than 500 passengers, including women and children, have already been rescued, a railway official told NDTV.
- A fleet of ambulances with 3 dozen doctors including gynecologists, paramedics were deployed to tackle any emergency, 14 buses and 3 tempos were also kept ready to move the passengers to safer locations.
MoS for Home Nityanand Rai calls up Maharashtra Chief Minister- Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai called up Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and offered all help from the Centre for the train passengers.
Maharashtra Chief Minister instructs chief secretary to monitor rescue operations- Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis instructs chief secretary to personally monitor rescue operations of the stranded Mahalaxmi Express.
- NDRF evacuates passengers from Mahalxmi Express on boats.
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has tweeted that 7 Navy teams, 2 helicopters, 2 military columns along with local administration are trying to bring situation under control.
- Maharashtra government writes to NDRF, Air Command, Navy, Air Force and military requesting rescue operation of over 115 persons who are stranded at a resort in Thane.
- Indian Air Force (IAF), Navy, Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) launched a massive aerial and surface operation to rescue an estimated 1,500 passengers stranded in the Mahalaxmi Express on the flooded railway tracks at Vangani in Mumbai.
- The teams, which included divers with special equipment and medical aid, managed to rescue around 120 passengers, including women, children and toddlers, by noon.
- Relief work is being hampered due to continuing heavy rain.
- Officials said it may take several hours to complete the rescue operation depending on the rain and the flood waters.
- The IAF and NDRF teams also brought to safety a group of around 7 passengers, who got down from the train to start walking towards Badlapur station but found themselves stuck in the swirling flood waters, running between 3-6 feet, for over 2 hours until some local villagers threw ropes at them, as reported by IANS.
Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express continues to be stranded- As Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express, with 700 passengers on board, is stranded eight flood rescue teams of Navy, including 3 diving teams have been mobilised with rescue material, inflatable boats and life jackets.
- Maharashtra government requested the defence officials to arrange airlift of passengers of a train stuck on tracks near Mumbai since Friday night.
- A Seaking Helicopter has also been sent with divers.
- The towns of Badlapur, Ulhasnagar, Vangani underwater since early Saturday as heavy rain lashed the region, flooding local rivers and other water bodies, reported IANS.
- In Mumbai, Minister of Education Ashish Shelar authorized school and college principals to declare a holiday to ensure students are not inconvenienced if heavy rain continued.
Heavy rains in Mumbai till July 29: India Meteorological Department- The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said Mumbai will continue to receive heavy rains till July 29 with the minimum and maximum temperatures hovering around 24 degree Celsius and 30 degree Celsius, respectively.
Mahalaxmi Express with 700 passengers onboard stranded- A train carrying more than 700 passengers was stranded today in the city amid heavy downpour.
- The RPF or the Railway Police Force and cops from Mumbai police reached Badlapur, after Mahalaxmi Express was held up between Badlapur and Wangani, to give the passengers food and water.
- A team from the National Disaster Response Force has been deployed for the evacuation of passengers.
Orange alert issued in Dehradun- In the wake of heavy rainfall alert issued by the MeT department, the district magistrate has ordered all government and private schools to remain shut today in Dehradun.
- The district administration has issued an orange alert in Dehradun.
Mumbai Police asks people not to go to sea- Mumbai Police requested people not to venture in waterlogged areas and to maintain distance from the sea.
- "City is expecting intermittent heavy showers all through the night. We request commuters to not venture in water-logged areas and also request you all to maintain distance from the sea. Please tweet to us or call on 100 in any emergency/need of help," said Mumbai Police.
Rail traffic hit in Mumbai- Rail services too have been hampered by the intermittent rains in Mumbai.
- "Very heavy rains in Kurla-Thane belt and very-very heavy rains beyond Kalyan. As a precautionary measure, we have suspended services from Kalyan to Karjat/Khopoli. Services on all other corridors of Central railway are running," Chief Public Relation Officer, Central Railway said.
Scene outside domestic airport in Mumbai
- Waterlogging was also reported outside the domestic airport departure gate leading to hassles for passengers who managed to reach the airport after being stuck in traffic jams for two-and-half hours on the Western Express Highway.
- Water-logging is being reported from Sion area, following heavy rainfall overnight.
Rain in Mumbai causes water-logging, traffic jams- In Juhu Tara Road, Jogeshwari Vikhroli Link Road, several stretches of SV Road and parts of Western Express Highway were waterlogged, leading to traffic jams.
- Traffic jam on the Western Express Highway started before the toll plaza at Bandra and extended all the way up to Borivali, around 25 km away.
17 flights diverted, traffic jams in Mumbai after very heavy rain- Seventeen flights were diverted and many delayed by up to an hour in Mumbai on Friday evening due to heavy rain and low visibility.
- There was massive waterlogging and traffic jams across the city, with no respite from the heavy downpour.
- The intensity of the rain will only start decreasing from Saturday afternoon or evening, private weather forecaster Skymet has predicted.
- "Flights are delayed by 30 minutes on average, due to heavy rains since last two hours," an official of the Mumbai airport told news agency ANI.
- Along with peak hour traffic, Western Express Highway was badly affected due to the rain with those heading to airport worst affected. On a normal day, the traffic crawls and the rain during peak hour made it worse.