Heavy rains in Thane-Palghar: 5 dead, 3 rescued from car

Five persons died in rain-related incidents and three were rescued from a submerged car in Thane and adjoining Palghar as heavy rains Tuesday in the region threw normal life out of gear.

In a wall collapse in an Urdu school near Durgai Fort in Kalyan in the district, three people, including a toddler, were killed.

"At around 1:30am, the protection wall of the school fell on hutments beside. The dead have been identified as Sogan Kamble (60), Karina Chand (32) and three-year-old Bhushan Chand. One person has been injured," a Thane Disaster Management Cell official said.

In another incident which took place around the same time, a car with three occupants fell into the Chenna Creek between Thane and Bhayander.

Fire brigade personnel from Balkum rushed to the site and managed to rescue the persons from the submerged car, Thane Regional Disaster Management Cell chief Santosh Kadam said, adding that the car continued to remain stuck in the creek.

Around 50 people were shifted to higher ground in the city's Bhaskar Colony area after water gushed into their homes in the early hours of the day, an official said.

Two people were swept away in the rains in Jawhar area and Dahanu, he said.

"Sixty-year-old Janu Umbarsada was swept away in a stream in Kundanparda area of Jawhar. Another person, Kailash Nagde (29) was washed away in a flash flood in the Baijapada area of Dahanu," Palghar Disaster Management Cell chief Vivekananda Kadam said.

Since Sunday, heavy rains has caused Surya, Vaitarna and Pinjal rivers in the region to swell, leaving several residential clusters alongside in danger of getting submerged.