Over 1,000 passengers, including nine pregnant women, were ferried to a safer location from the Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express that was stranded for close to 17 hours due to flooding caused by incessant rains. In a multi-agency operation, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the Air Force, Army, Navy, State Disaster Authority, state police, Railway Police, fire departments of nearby municipalities along with locals helped rescue the passengers marooned at Vangani - 80 km from Mumbai - where the Ulhas river rose and inundated the Central Railway (CR) line.
“All the passengers were rescued safely from Mahalaxmi Express. They are being provided with food and medical aid. There were nine pregnant women in the train who were safely rescued. One of them is admitted to a nearby hospital for check-ups,” said Rajesh Narvekar, collector of Thane district. Nine-month pregnant Reshma Kamble, a passenger who went into labour, is now under observation at Shushrut Hospital in Badlapur.
“It was dark outside when the train was stuck. We tried flashing mobile light and check, and saw water everywhere. This is how we figured out it was flood on track. We had no idea about the water level. We tried calling up the toll free numbers but there was no response,” said Appasaheb Patil, 40, who had visited Mumbai for medical treatment.
Heavy rains in Mumbai and adjoining areas caused flooding in several parts of the city affecting air and rail traffic, with the Mahalaxmi Express getting stuck on waterlogged tracks in Thane district with 1,000 passengers, prompting the authorities to launch a multi-agency rescue operation. The NDRF teams began evacuating passengers using inflatable rubber boats, even as Navy divers with specialised equipment, a Seaking and MI-17 helicopters of the IAF, and four columns of the Army were pressed into action. Passengers who had jumped from the train before the teams arrived were rescued by local villagers. A fleet of ambulances with 37 doctors, including gynecologists, was kept ready to treat passengers. The passengers were first ferried to Badlapur in buses and tempos. The CR organised a special train at Kalyan to ferry passengers to Kolhapur.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis instructed chief secretary Ajoy Mehta to monitor the evacuation operations and coordinate with various agencies engaged in the rescue work. The CM said the district administration had made arrangement for meals and fresh water at Sahyadri Mangal Karyalaya and other locations in villages between the stranded train and Badlapur.
