Rain fury claims 25 lives in Mumbai

Mumbai: Twenty five people died in rain-related incidents as incessant heavy downpour overnight during a major thunderstorm pummeled Mumbai, causing severe water logging and traffic disruptions in the financial capital on Sunday, officials said. The Western Railway and Central Railway briefly suspended suburban train services in Mumbai after the heavy rains, and many long distance trains were terminated or regulated at various stations, officials said. Seventeen people died as a compound wall came crashing down on some houses located on a hillock after a landslide, a fire official said.

The retaining wall of the Bharatnagar locality in Mumbai's Mahul area collapsed at 1 am, the official said. Seven people were injured and taken to nearby Rajawadi hospital, he added. A civic activist said this is among the 257 hutments that have come up on hillocks in the city. In the last 29 years, 290 people in such localities have been killed in landslides and collapses during monsoon, he added.

The IMD has predicted intense rainfall activity over north India from July 18-21 and over the west coast till July 23.

The IMD said moderate to severe thunderstorms with lightning are very likely at isolated places over Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and east Rajasthan during the next 24 hours. "They may cause injuries leading to casualties to people and animals staying outdoor," the MeT department cautioned.