Rains wreak havoc in Mumbai, over 30 killed

More than 30 people have died in Mumbai in various incidents due to incessant rains as the city limbed back to normalcy on Wednesday.

This includes the death of 24 people after a wall collapsed in Malad East on Tuesday morning and deaths due to electrocution, among other cases.

Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri informed earlier today that there is "some dislocation" at the Mumbai airport and it will be sorted out "very quickly".

"Mumbai Airport has not been shut. One of the runways which used to take 45 flights per hour, is now taking 36 flights. So, there has been some dislocation. It will be sorted out very quickly," Puri said.

Moreover, in a statement, Central Railway PRO said, "Arranged extra trains from Dombivli, Thane to clear extra rush. We are also running special trains apart from Sunday schedule."

The death toll due to wall collapse in Pimpripada area of Malad East rose to 24 on Wednesday. The compound wall of Malad MCGM Reservoir at Pimpri Pada, Malad East collapsed in the wee hours of Tuesday.

In total, 119 people got injured out of which 24 died, 72 are admitted in hospitals and 23 have been discharged.

Besides Malad East, three people, including a three-year-old boy, died while one sustained injuries after a compound wall of the National Urdu School collapsed in Kalyan in the intervening night of Monday-Tuesday following heavy rainfall.

Mumbai recorded the second highest rainfall in the last 45 years causing accidents throwing traffic out of gear. The city received 550 mm of rainfall over a period of two days, the average of the entire month of June has been exceeded in just last 48 hours.

According to the IMD's classification, 15.6mm to 64.4mm of rainfall falls under 'moderate', 64.5mm to 115.5mm is 'heavy', 115.6mm to 204.4mm is 'very heavy' and more than 204.5mm is 'extreme'.

In an effort to help its customers across Mumbai, Maruti Suzuki India has promptly reached out to the customers with precautionary steps to prevent car damage, a statement read.

More than 3.5 lakh text messages have been sent to inform customers about preventive measures, which would help them to protect their vehicles from aggravating damage," the statement added.

Apart from Mumbai, several deaths have been reported in other cases related to heavy rains in Maharashtra.

Six bodies were recovered on Wednesday after the Tiware dam in Ratnagiri district breached due to heavy rain causing a flood-like situation in seven downstream villages. As many as 24 people are feared missing, sources said.

Moreover, at least six people were killed and three others suffered injuries after a portion of a compound wall collapsed in Pune on Tuesday following incessant rains.