After a rescue operation that lasted several hours, the Central Railway announced on Saturday afternoon that all 1,050 passengers on board the stranded Mahalaxmi Express were rescued. The Mahalaxmi Express was stranded in Thane district near Mumbai early on Saturday following heavy overnight rain.
The Central Railway announced a special train will transport passengers to Kolhapur, the destination of the Mahalaxmi Express.
What began as a normal trip for passengers aboard the Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express on Friday night turned into a harrowing experience as the train got stuck between Badlapur and Vangani railway stations on the outskirts of Mumbai. Heavy rains in the Mumbai and Thane regions had flooded the railway tracks after the Ulhas river overflowed. The passengers on the Mahalaxmi Express were stranded in the train through the night as the train couldn’t move ahead.
Aerial photos taken from a Indian Navy helicopter showed the train stranded amid flood waters all around it. With the flood waters showing no signs of retreating and passengers, including pregnant women and children, inside the train without food and water, the Central Railway, along with the help of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), launched a rescue operation in the morning.
Along with the NDRF, rescue teams from the navy, including diving teams with inflatable boats and life jackets, were pressed into service to rescue the stranded passengers. The rescued passengers were taken to a local convention hall in Badlapur where they were served food and water. Doctors and ambulances were also sent.
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According to officials, around eight NDRF boats were deployed to evacuate the stranded passengers. Buses were arranged to take them to Badlapur station.
“All stranded passengers of Mahalaxmi Express have been evacuated safely. A special train with 19 coaches will leave from Kalyan to Kolhapur with the passengers of the Mahalaxmi Express,” Central Railway authorities said.
Services on the Kalyan to Karjat section of the Central Railway were suspended since Thursday night due to the heavy rain and flooding in the section, crippling services between Mumbai and Pune. While some trains were diverted via other routes, some were cancelled and others short-terminated and will return to their respective destinations. Suburban railway services on other lines were operational.
The passengers who were in the Mahalaxmi Express for over 12 hours would have heaved a sigh of relief on being rescued safely. However, this incident could have been easily averted had the train not been allowed to proceed from the Badlapur railway station. Why the train was allowed to move despite the waterlogging is something that the Railways will have to answer.
Meanwhile, life in Mumbai limped back to normalcy by Saturday after heavy rains that had lashed the metropolis on Friday night subsided and water levels in low-lying areas receded. Intermittent showers, however, have continued in the city.
The Indian Meteorological Department said around 150-180mm rainfall was received in Mumbai suburbs in the last 24 hours.
The heavy rain had left many people stranded for hours on Friday in traffic jams in some parts of the city. On Friday, 17 flights were diverted from Mumbai and on Saturday around 11 flights were cancelled and a few incoming flights diverted to other airports, PTI reported.