Mumbai, Aug 19 (PTI) As many as 782 passengers were rescued on Tuesday evening after two overcrowded Monorail trains on elevated tracks got stuck between stations in Mumbai on a day of torrential rains, leading to panic and frantic rescue efforts.
More than a dozen passengers complained of suffocation with a couple of them reportedly fainting as electricity and air-conditioning shut down, though only one passenger had to be hospitalised and her condition was said to be stable.
Overcrowding by passengers, who had no other option left with the downpour crippling the suburban local train services, led to the power failure as the Monorail system is not capable of handling a sudden rush, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) said.
As many as 582 passengers were rescued from the Monorail train stuck between Mysore Colony and Bhakti Park by deploying snorkel ladders, as the train could not be towed back. Whereas 200 passengers were evacuated from another Monorail train which was successfully towed back to the nearby Wadala station, officials said.
Panic prevailed in the Monorail train which got stuck between Mysore Colony and Bhakti Park stations around 6.15 pm. Fifteen passengers complained of suffocation.
While 14 of them were discharged after treatment on the spot, a girl was admitted to hospital and her condition was stable, officials said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said an inquiry will be conducted into the incident.
“People were stranded at various stations due to the rains. More people than the carrying capacity of the Monorail trains boarded,” said MMRDA joint commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey.
Narendra Kumar Mishra, a rescued passenger, told PTI that Monorail officials should have regulated the number of passengers boarding the train.
“Such incidents have happened earlier. But then the disruption lasted only a few minutes. This time it was for more than one and a half hours. There was panic, people were scared. And it was very hot inside,” said Hrithik Sarkar, speaking to PTI.
“I was stuck in the Monorail for almost one hour and 45 minutes. People were scared as there was no communication from the authorities. Some were struggling to breathe, and tried to break the window. A couple of passengers fainted,” said one passenger after he was rescued.
A woman passenger said there was no air conditioning and electricity inside.
“As the local services on the harbour line were shut due to the heavy rains, we took Monorail, and went through this ordeal,” said another passenger.
Mumbai has been battered by rains for the last two days, throwing normal life in the metropolis out of gear.
“Preliminary checks found that overcrowding increased the train’s total weight to about 109 metric tonnes against its designed capacity of 104 tonnes,” the MMRDA, the executing agency of the Monorail project, said, referring to the train stuck between Mysore Colony and Bhakti Park.
It further said that the excess load broke the mechanical contact between the power rail and the current collector, disrupting the power supply essential for running the train.
Technicians were rushed to the spot and another Monorail train was deployed as per the standard operating procedure to tow the stalled train. However, the effort failed.
“Normally, in such situations, the stalled train is towed to the nearest station. However, because of the excess weight, it could not be towed and therefore, a rescue operation had to be carried out with the help of the Fire Brigade,” MMRDA stated.
“The Harbour Line of the suburban railway was shut owing to heavy rains, leading to an unusual rush at Monorail stations. Despite repeated appeals by security staff, the crowding could not be controlled,” MMRDA statement further claimed.
The incident occurred primarily due to overcrowding, the agency said, adding that Mumbai Monorail is a limited-capacity system not designed to handle sudden surges in commuter demand like suburban trains or metro corridors.
“A detailed technical review is being conducted to prevent recurrence,” the statement read. PTI KK DC MR ND KRK
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