SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 13 December 2024, Friday |

Landslides kill at least 25 in Mumbai after heavy rains

Local officials claimed on Sunday that at least 25 people died in three Mumbai neighbourhoods when many houses fell due to landslides prompted by heavy rain.

Local media showed rescuers digging up the earth and retrieving remains with their hands, while authorities feared additional casualties could be trapped inside the debris. Rescuers were also seen carrying injured people on homemade stretchers through small alleyways.

Within the last 24 hours authorities have so far reported 11 incidents of houses or walls collapsing in the Mumbai area, officials said.

In one neighborhood about half a dozen shacks located at the base of a hill collapsed on top of each other, officials said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered condolences in a tweet and announced aid for the victims.

Several areas in the city were flooded after heavy rainfall over the last 24 hours and suburban train services were disrupted, crippling India’s financial capital.

Mumbai and the coast of India’s industrial Maharashtra state are expected to receive heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next four days, the weather department said on Sunday.

Torrential rain, especially during India’s July-September monsoon, often triggers the collapse of buildings, especially older or illegally built structures.

    Source:
  • Reuters