Mumbai rain: Vehicles on Western Express Highway navigate the waterlogged road to the airport
The Western Express Highway in Mumbai which leads to the airport was flooded after continuous rain in the city, making it extremely difficult for people rushing to catch their flights reach the airport on time.
In a video shared by NDTV's Saurabh Gupta, the vehicle he is travelling in pulls slowly on the knee-deep water as he advises the driver not to take his foot off the accelerator to prevent the engine from stalling. All the while raindrops hit the windshield, hampering visibility.
The main runway has been closed and a secondary one is being used for flight operations. Many Mumbai-bound flights have been diverted to other cities.
Many vehicles going towards the airport could be seen stranded on the road where the water level had risen above the sidewalk level. The risk of unseen potholes added to the pressure of drivers.
A SpiceJet plane that came from Jaipur overshot the runway while landing at Mumbai airport amid heavy rain just before midnight on Monday, officials said. No one was injured in the incident, they said.
Several suburban and long-distance trains have been cancelled after railway tracks were flooded. Passengers of three suburban trains who got stuck on flooded tracks were evacuated by Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff, Central Railway tweeted.
All schools, colleges and government offices will remain closed today, the municipal commissioner said in a late night order.
Mumbai received the highest rainfall in a decade over a two-day period since Sunday.