Mumbai | At least nine people, including five members of the same family, died on Monday as heavy rains continued to lash Mumbai and large parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region for the third day. In the last two days, the death toll has reached 42. On Sunday, 33 people lost their lives due to heavy rains.
Five members of a family were killed, while three others were rescued in an accident in a suburb of Thane in Maharashtra on Monday when a portion of a hill collapsed and fell on its houses. Officials gave this information.
Incessant rain in Maharashtra is breaking down as a disaster for the people there. The incident took place in Kalwa suburb on Monday afternoon when heavy rains were continuing in Mumbai and Thane. Loose rocks and soil suddenly started coming down from Gholainagar hill in Parsik Hills area and started falling on the huts below.
While locals managed to rescue three people, teams of SDRM, Thane DRF, Fire Brigade and others later recovered the bodies of five members of the same family living in a house.
Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad, civil and district officials and others rushed to the spot to oversee relief and rescue operations and 150 other families from nearby slums have been shifted to safer places.
After interacting with the victims and the local people, Awhad warned that strict action would be taken against those involved in illegal construction activities in such sensitive areas.
45-year-old Sudam P. Yadav, his wife Vidhavati Devi (40) and their children Ravikishan (12), Simran (10) and Sandhya (3) are among those killed in the accident.
Two others who were injured were taken to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital in Kalwa where their condition is stable.
Another seven people are still feared trapped under the wet mud mound and the search is on.
Among other casualties, a 9-year-old boy fell into an open drain in Mira Road. Two people drowned in separate incidents in Thane, while a youth was washed away in floodwaters in a local river in Palghar.
In Belapur town, his car got stuck in the floodwaters in a lake but three people in it miraculously survived. The rescue team rescued them and the car was pulled out with the help of a crane.
Several areas in urban areas were submerged and incessant rains in villages in the coastal Konkan region have led to flooding in various areas.
A minor landslide occurred in a hill near Neral on the way to Matheran hill station, while local rivers at Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg were flowing above the danger mark. Mumbai-Goa highway traffic has almost come to a standstill.
Due to incessant rains, several low-lying villages and towns have been inundated by two to three feet. Normal life has been affected in the coastal area on the busy Mumbai-Goa highway.
The Konkan Railway has canceled, diverted or short terminated several trains due to water and mud filling the tunnel between Karmala-Thivim stations in Goa, affecting operations on both sides.
