Water logging has also been reported from areas at Shyam Talav, Hindmata, Oberoi Mall, Western Express Highway, CST Road in Mumbai (Express photo/Dipti Singh)
Five people were injured after a part of a road overbridge collapsed in Mumbai as heavy rains lashed the city on Tuesday morning. An official from Disaster Management Unit said that incessant rain caused cracks in the bridge, which later resulted in the collapse. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast heavy rain in parts of Mumbai and Thane for next two days.
The continuous downpour is also hampering the rescue efforts at Gokhale Bridge. “NDRF has a 40 member team. Our major problem is the heavy rain. We can’t remove debris through machines. It has to be done manually,” said Mahesh Nalavade, Deputy Commander, NDRF. Waterlogging has also been reported from Shyam Talav, Hindmata, Oberoi Mall, Western Express Highway, CST Road, Kurla, Mahim junction and Nehru Nagar Bride. Multiple traffic diversions have been set up in the wake of the bridge collapse and rainfall in the city.
In the last 24 hours, Santacruz recorded 131 mm rainfall, while 75 mm was recorded at Colaba, Skymet Weather agency said.
Read | Andheri bridge collapse: Five people injured, train services hit; probe ordered
The weather observatory in suburban Santacruz recorded 131 mm rainfall in last 24 hours while the one at Colaba in south Mumbai recorded 75 mm rainfall. Navi Mumbai recorded an average rainfall of 76.7mm since morning.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a tweet said civic governance has "collapsed" in Mumbai with streets flooded and a road overbridge collapsing on rail tracks.
Railway Minister Piyush has ordered an inquiry into the collapse of a bridge in Andheri. He has also offered a reward 5 lakh for the person who stopped the train at right time and offered one 1 lakh compensation for the five injured.
See Pictures by Express Photographer Nirmal Harindran
Few flights have been diverted from Mumbai to nearby airports. Besides, six flights had to do a go-around due to the bad weather. According to PTI, private carriers Vistara, GoAir and Jet Airways said they will accommodate passengers who were late due to traffic congestion because of the road over-bridge collapse in suburban Andheri.
Meanwhile, The local train services of the Central Railway were running behind schedule by 10-15 minutes
The Meteorological department has predicted heavy rains in Mumbai and adjourning areas in the next 24 hours. The heavy downpour caused waterlogging in the low-lying areas of Hindmata, Sion, Parel TT, Nehru Nagar, Kurla, Bhandup, Wadala, Dharavi, Andheri, and Mulund. Pumping machines were pressed into service at various places to flush out water, a spokesperson of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said.
The Mumbai University of Mumbai will hold re-examination for students who missed their exams due to rain and Andheri bridge collapse. Several MSc Zoology and Chemistry students couldn’t reach exam centers in the morning.
The Mumbai unit of the Congress party launched an attack on BMC over the failing infrastructure in the city.
Keeping in mind the heavy rain and the bridge collapse incident, Jet Airways has issued a waiver on penalties for date/flight change, refund, no-show (including fare difference if any), on all confirmed tickets for flights operating to and from Mumbai. Vistara, meanwhile, will accommodate passengers on next flight without additional fare
Meanwhile, a double-decker BEST bus met with an accident in Mumbai this morning. The bus was travelling towards Kalina University when it crashed into an overhead railing. The BMC had deployed additional buses to ferry commuters after trains were cancelled due to the bridge collapse.
(Express photos by Nirmal Harindran)
In the wake of the bridge collapse and continuous rains, schools in western suburbs have declared a holiday today
The Mumbai unit of the Congress party has requested its volunteers to assist in the rescue efforts in the city
There is no substantial delay at Mumbai airport. While four flights have been diverted, none have been cancelled. Low visibility was reported from places across Mumbai this morning.
(Express photo/Amit Chakravarty)
Few trains along Western Line and Harbour Line have been closed due to the bridge collapse. Few trains on Central Line have also been delayed due to the continuous rainfall. Limited Services are running between Borivali-Goregaon. Food packets and water bottles have been arranged at various long-distance trains stations for stranded long-distance passengers.
Heavy rains in Mumbai and some neighbouring areas since late last night caused water-logging in low-lying areas and disruptions in vehicular movement on some roads in the city.
(Express photo/Dipti Singh)
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