Two dead, flight overshoots runway as rain continues to batter Mumbai
mumbai — At least two persons were killed in rain-related accidents in Maharashtra’s Palghar while road, rail traffic and flights were severely hit as the country’s commercial capital and many parts of the state were battered by incessant rains for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday, officials said. Mumbai has now been placed at high alert.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the legislature in Nagpur that all agencies including the Indian Navy, the Disaster Management Cell and others are working hard to provide all assistance to Mumbaikars.
Anxious moments were experienced at Mumbai Airport when an Air India Express flight IX-213 with 89 passengers, while landing on the alternate runway 14 at around 3pm, overshot the runway by 10 feet and stopped on the paved stopway.
An AIX spokesperson said though the aircraft landed correctly and used maximum braking, it could not stop owing to the slippery conditions following heavy rains and stopped only on the paved stopway. There was no damage to the aircraft or injuries to the passengers and crew.
An airport spokesperson said flight arrivals and departures were delayed by around 25 minutes with no cancellations or diversions.
The Juhu Airport in Vile Parle was flooded most of the day, halting all helicopter and small aircraft operations.
Mumbai’s lifeline, the Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) suburban trains, were running late by 45-60 minutes due to waterlogged tracks, causing major delays to the morning commuters.
There were brief disruptions owing to waterlogging, signal failures, a crack in the tracks and other problems, but overall the services remained largely functional.
WR services on the critical Vasai-Virar sector were cancelled. Services operated only between Churchgate and Vasai, as tracks lay submerged in 650 mm waters between Vasai-Virar, damaging electrical cables, signaling and other overhead equipment. —