Mumbai deluge claims 10 lives

Mumbai: Torrential rains and the subsequent flooding claimed at least 10 lives in Mumbai and the neighbouring districts of Palghar and Thane since Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.

While nine persons were washed away in separate incidents in Mumbai and the two adjoining districts, another man lost his life in a wall-collapse incident in Ghatkopar in Mumbai.

"In Mumbai, the incidents were reported from Dahisar, Kandivli, Malad and Dadar areas," a senior police official said. While two people were washed away in nullahs and another in a drain, one got swept away during Ganesh idol immersion, he added.

In another incident, a man named Rameshwar Tiwari was killed after the wall of a power sub-station fell on his house in Asalpha village in suburban Ghatkopar," police said. His 35-year-old wife and nine-year-old son sustained injuries in the incident that took place in the early hours, they added.

Torrential rains pounded the metropolis throughout the day yesterday. The Santacruz observatory of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) registered 331.4 mm rainfall on Tuesday, the heaviest since the July 26, 2005 record of 944 mm, which had caused the worst havoc in decades in the city.

In Palghar district, four persons, including a three-year-old girl, were washed away in separate incidents yesterday. Out of the four, body of the minor girl has been recovered so far, Palghar police said.