Mumbai Woman Dies After Falling Into Drain Amid Heavy Rain, High-Level Probe Ordered

Mumbai: The Mumbai civic body on Thursday, September 26, announced a high-level probe into the death of a 45-year-old woman after falling in a stormwater drain here after heavy rains, PTI reported. 

As per the police, the incident occurred at around 9:20 pm on Wednesday, Sept 25, near gate no. 8 of MIDC, Andheri East. The victim was identified as Vimal Anil Gaikwad.

The local police and fire brigade reached the site upon receiving the information. The woman was rushed to the Cooper Hospital where she was declared brought dead, the police said.

In the release issued on Thursday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that a three-member committee, headed by deputy municipal commissioner (zone 3) Devidas Kshirsagar, will submit a report on the incident within three days.

Mumbai Fire Brigade Chief Ravindra Ambulgekar and Chief Engineer (vigilance) Avinash Tambewagh are the other two members of the committee. 

As heavy rain wreaked havoc in Maharashtra , three more deaths were reported in Kalyan and Thane due to lightning strikes in the past 24 hours.

IMD Issues Red Alert; Schools, Colleges Closed

The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a red alert for Mumbai amid heavy rains, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has announced the closure of all schools and colleges in the city.

"The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a Red Alert for Mumbai, till tomorrow morning 8:30 am. In view of this, all schools and colleges in Mumbai have been declared a holiday for tomorrow Thursday, 26 September 2024, in consideration of the safety of students. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) administration requests Mumbaikars to step out of homes only if required," the BMC said in a post on X.

Amid heavy rains, 14 flights arriving at the Mumbai Airport on Wednesday had to be diverted and landed at other airports.

The official said that nine of these flights were of Indigo, which was not allowed to land in the city due to bad weather. Other flights which were directed by the Aviation Traffic Control (ATC) to land at other airports included two Vistara flights and one each of Air India, Akasa and Gulf Air.

(Inputs from PTI)