Mumbai: Incessant heavy rainfall in Mumbai and its adjoining areas on Saturday resulted in four college students getting washed away in Navi Mumbai's Kharghar area. Reportedly, the water level suddenly increased at the Pandavkada waterfall while the students were picnicking, which caught them off guard.
News18 also said that from a group of nine students, six got washed away and one has been declared dead. The report also said that the students were from the SIES college in Navi Mumbai and were picnicking at the spot that is prohibited access to in the monsoon.
ANI reported that the police and fire department are present at the spot.
Maharashtra: 4 people drowned in Pandavkada waterfall, in Kharghar of Navi Mumbai today. Police and fire dept are present at the spot. Body of one person has been recovered, search is underway for the remaining three.
— ANI (@ANI) August 3, 2019
Mumbai witnessed heavy rainfall throughout the night in many parts of the city. This led to waterlogging in several areas including Goregaon, Kandivali and Dahisar.
Mumbai's municipal body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has warned residents to avoid going near the sea following the possibility of a high tide, which is expected to hit the city later on Saturday.
According to the Mumbai traffic police officers, many roads were badly affected. The Met department on Friday forecasted “intense heavy rainfall” in Mumbai on late Saturday and Sunday.
Flight services at Mumbai airport have largely been unaffected so far.
KS Hosalikar, Deputy Director General of Meteorology, India Met Department, Mumbai, tweeted, “With the development of low pressure area over Bay, this Saturday night and Sunday, Mumbai is very likely to get intense heavy rainfall.”
He said intense rain will continue in north Konkan areas including Mumbai, Thane and Palghar for the next four to six hours. All government schools in Thane have been closed for today as per the order issued by the Municipal Corporation in view of continuous rainfall in the city, news agency ANI reported.
The met department has forecast "intense heavy rainfall" in the city till Sunday.
The Mumbai traffic police have cautioned the commuters to leave their houses only if necessary and if going towards South Mumbai, the drivers have been advised to take Bandra-Worli Sea link.
The downpour has led to waterlogging on the Central Railway line too, leading to 15-20 minute delay in suburban train services on the route. Chief Public Relations Officer of the Central Railway Sunil Udasi said trains on the line are running at a "cautious speed" as a precautionary measure.
Mumbai has been facing incessant rain and waterlogging for past few days. Earlier, 17 flights had been diverted and several were delayed by 30 minutes on average due to heavy rains. Rail services too have been hampered by the intermittent rains.
