Mumbai: Six people were killed and 18 are still missing after heavy rainfall led to a breach in the Tiware Dam in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district at around 9.30 pm on Tuesday night. Seven down-stream villages, which include Akle, Riktoli, Ovali, Kalkavne and Nandivase, have been flooded and at least 12 houses and 20 vehicles near the dam have been washed away.
According to a report by news agency IANS, the 19-year-old dam had shown signs of leakage. District authorities were told, locals said, but no repairs were carried out.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are at the spot, which is approximately 275 kilometres from Mumbai, to carry out search and rescue operations. Additional rescue teams consisting of government officials, police and volunteers are also working at the site.
“Using drones, we have located six dead bodies and over 18 people are still missing,” Alok Awasthy, NDRF spokesman, told AFP.
“We have deployed two teams after the Tiware dam breach occurred last night and are looking for survivors,” he added.
Former union minister Suresh Prabhu tweeted his condolences on Wednesday morning and said he had “asked all our karyakartas & NGOs to offer all help to (families of) victims.
The opposition party in the state, the Congress, tweeted: “We pray the missing individuals are found immediately & have a speedy recovery.”
The monsoon has brought large parts of the state and its capital Mumbai to a standstill. According to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mumbai alone received an “unprecedented” 300 to 400 millimetres of rain in a 12-hour period yesterday. Heavy rainfall was also recorded in Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts, as also Nashik, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and western parts of the state.
“In the past 12 hours, the city has received an unprecedented 300 to 400 mm rain, the highest in the past decade. The existing drainage systems are unable to cope with such a heavy downpour, coupled with a high tide this afternoon,” the Chief Minister told reporters.
More than 20 people were killed early on Tuesday morning after the rains led to the collapse of a wall in Mumbai’s Malad East. Rescue teams led by the NDRF and Mumbai Fire Brigade mounted a desperate all-night effort to save three people trapped in debris. One of those trapped was a young girl – 12-year-old Sanchita – whose body was recovered after an unsuccessful 14-hour rescue attempt.
Three others were killed in a wall collapse incident in Kalyan in Thane district.
The Chief Minister announced a compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to the families of those killed in the wall crash. “Pained to know about the loss of lives in Malad Wall Collapse incidence. My thoughts are with families who lost loved ones & prayers for speedy recovery of injured,” he said on Twitter.
Mumbai airport shut its main runway late Monday night after a SpiceJet flight carrying 167 people overshot its landing and got stuck at the end of the strip. A secondary runway was pressed into service but over 200 flights have been delayed or diverted. The main runway is not likely to be operational before Thursday.
Two men died in an SUV after it was stuck in a flooded north Mumbai underpass on Tuesday night.
Local and long-distance train services were paralysed by waterlogged tracks and flooded stations, leading to long delays and cancellations.
Western Railway tweeted on Wednesday morning that suburban services are running normally. However, Central Railway has notified passengers of delays and short termination of certain services.
The Meteorological Department has warned of “extremely heavy” rainfall in Thane and Palghar on July 4 and 5. Private weather agency Skymet said Mumbai is at “serious risk of flooding” between July 3 and 5. “Close to 200 mm or more rain per day is likely during this period, which could hamper normal life,” it said.
