Heavy rains caused flash floods in Maharashtra’s Thane district, where hundreds of marooned people were rescued from a train and other places. All 1,050 passengers on board Kolhapur-bound Mahalaxmi Express were rescued in a multi-agency operation nearly 17 hours after the train was stranded near Vangani in Thane district due to flooding on tracks following heavy rains. The Indian Air Force also airlifted over 120 people stuck in different parts of Thane district.
Here are the updates:
IAF chopper airlifts over 120 people stranded in Thane
The Indian Air Force has airlifted over 120 people stuck in different parts of Thane district in Maharashtra due to flash floods triggered by heavy rains, an official said.
While at least 70 people were stranded on the terrace of a petrol pump in Badlapur town, around 65 km from Mumbai, another 45 people were stuck at a private resort in Shahad, 46 km away, the State disaster control room official said in Mumbai.
Heavy showers since July 26 night have caused the Ulhas river in the district to overflow, with water gushing onto roads in Badlapur and inundating many areas.
“A rescue operation was launched with the help of the Indian Air Force after we received a call at 11 am requesting airlift from the terrace of the petrol pump. An IAF helicopter was dispatched to the spot and also to the resort in Shahad. All of them have been rescued,” the official said.
Personnel of National Disaster Response Force, local police, fire brigade, and disaster management force were deployed for the rescue operations, he said.
In another operation carried out by a helicopter-borne team of the IAF, nine persons were rescued from a rooftop in Kalyan in the district, an official said.
The building is close to the Ulhas river which has breached its banks, said the official.
While Thane city recorded 160 mm of rainfall till 8 am on July 27, Murbad tehsil recorded 332 mm, while Kalyan, Ulhasnagar and Amberanth recorded over 200 mm of rainfall each, the district collector’s office said.
Amit Shah praises rescue teams
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has praised the efforts of the NDRF, the three services and other agencies in rescuing passengers of a train stranded in Maharashtra’s Thane for 17 hours due to flooding of tracks after heavy rains.
The home minister also said the central government is closely monitoring the entire operation.
“Kudos to the rescue teams for their exemplary effort,” he said.
Mumbai-Goa highway shut for traffic
Mumbai-Goa national highway in Maharashtra has been shut for traffic since Saturday morning due to flood in the Jagbudi river in coastal Ratnagiri district following heavy rains, police said.
Torrential rains since Friday night have triggered a flood-like situation in some parts of Thane, Raigad and Ratnagiri districts.
An official said the river water gushed on the highway near Khed in Ratnagiri district this morning.
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, he said.
Personnel of disaster response force and police are deployed in those areas to avoid any untoward incident, the official added
The CPRO, Central Railway has declared that all passengers have been safely rescued from the train.
A special train with 19 coaches will leave from Kalyan to Kolhapur with the evacuated passengers, the CPRO further said.
Nine pregnant women rescued
The NDRF has rescued over 500 people, including nine pregnant women from the stranded Mahalaxmi Express, the Chief Minister's Office has said.
Ambulances with 37 doctors, including gynaecologists, have been deployed for emergency. Three tempos and 14 buses have been arranged for further movement.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has appealed the citizens stranded in train to not worry and has ensured that all measures and rescue operations are taken care of roping in all expert teams from NDRF, Army, Navy, Local administration, Police, and Railway Ministry.
The Central Railway has said around 220 people have been rescued from the Mahalaxmi Express so far, including 100 by Thane disaster team and 117 by the NDRF
"Our request to passengers of Mahalaxmi Express, please don't get down from train. Train is the safe place. Staff, RPF and City Police is in train to look after your well being. Please wait for advice from NDRF and other disaster management authorities," The Central Railway has tweeted.
Situation under control: Fadnavis
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said the situation is under control. "I have instructed the Chief Secretary to personally monitor rescue operations at Wangi where people are stranded in Mahalaxmi Express. Four teams of NDRF reached and they are evacuating passengers with the help of 8 boats," he said.
Mr. Fadnavis also said he had spoken to Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai and the Centre has assured all support.
Seven Navy teams, two helicopters of Indian Air force, two Military columns have been deployed along with the local administration. Two more military columns are on the way, he added.
Seven flights were cancelled, while nine flights have be diverted to nearby airports from Mumbai International Airport, a spokesperson has said.
NDRF, Navy to rescue stranded passengers
NDRF begins rescuing passengers stranded in Mahalaxmi Express using rubber boats
The Maharashtra government has sought the help of NDRF to airlift about 700 passengers aboard Mahalaxmi Express, who are stranded near Vangani village, Badlapur.
According to the Disaster Control Room of Maharashtra, the NDRF has rescued seven people so far.
Eight flood rescue teams from the Navy including three Diving team have been mobilised with rescue material, inflatable boats and life jackets, the Western Naval Command has said.
Trains cancelled, short terminated
Four long distance trains have been cancelled.
- 22105/22106 Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai Indrayani Express (journey commencing date) JCO 27.7.2019
- 12298 Pune-Ahmedabad Duranto Express JCO 27.7.2019
- 11097 Pune-Ernakulam Express JCO 27.7.2019
- 11098 Ernakulam-Pune Express JCO 29.7.2019
The following trains have been short terminated
- 51028 Pandharpur-Mumbai Fast Passenger JCO 26.7.2019 short terminated at Pune
- 17412 Kolhapur-Mumbai Mahalaxmi Express JCO 26.7.2019 short terminated at Pune and will run as 17411 Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express JCO 26.7.2019 from Pune.
- 18519 Visakhapatnam-LTT Express JCO 25.7.2019 short terminated at Pune and will run as 18520 LTT-Visakhapatnam Express JCO 27.7.2019 from Pune
- 12116 Solapur-Mumbai Siddheshwar Express JCO 26.7.2019 short terminated at Daund and will run as 11301 Mumbai-KSR Bengaluru Udyan Express JCO 27.7.2019 from Daund.
Mahalaxmi Express stranded
Due to incessant rains the Kolhapur bound Mahalaxmi Express has been stranded between Baldlapur and Vangani. Nearly 2,000 passengers have been stranded in the train for around five hours.
Mr. Brijesh Singh, DGIPR of Maharashtra said that the NDRF team has reached the nearest point and are moving in with six to seven boats. He added that railway officials and RPF has reached and are with passengers.
Roads, tracks flooded
Flooded Badlapur area.
Heavy rainfall in several areas yet again brought waterlogging, tree collapses and train service disruptions to the city on Friday. Between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Friday, the island city received 61.24 mm rainfall, while the eastern and western suburbs 99.11 mm and 77.65 mm respectively.
Very heavy rain between Kurla and Thane and extremely heavy showers beyond Kalyan caused Central Railway (CR) to suspend services between Kalyan and Karjat/ Khopoli as a precautionary measure late in the evening. Services on all other CR corridors running normally.
Modak Sagar lake starts overflowing
The Modak Sagar lake, one of the seven reservoirs supplying water to Mumbai, started overflowing since Friday afternoon. Modak Sagar, located in adjoining Thane district on the Vaitarna River, is the third reservoir after the Tulsi and the Tansa to get filled to the brim.
It is the second largest of the lakes supplying water to Mumbai.
Water logging in Shani Nagar at Badlapur west
