Rains, gusty winds lash several parts of Mumbai; businesses, life disrupted

[This report has been updated]

Rain and strong gusts of wind swept through several areas of Mumbai on Monday, killing three people and wounding nearly 60 others, while

damaging property and resulting in the suspension of flight and train operations. 

Eight people were killed and over 59 injured when a 100-foot tall illegal billboard fell on a petrol pump in Ghatkopar area of Mumbai as unseasonal rains accompanied by dust storms lashed the city. The pump stands on police land and retails BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) fuel.

"As of now, 60 people have been rescued from the accident site and taken to the hospital. Four people have succumbed to death in this unfortunate incident," Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Mumbai, said on X (formerly Twitter)  

Flight operations at Mumbai airport were temporarily suspended due to low visibility and strong winds. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) in Mumbai witnessed 15 flight diversions as operations were temporarily disrupted for over an hour. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) Mumbai had issued a ‘nowcast warning, forecasting a thunderstorm accompanied by lightning and moderate to intense spells of rain for Mumbai, Palghar and Thane.

“Due to the inclement weather and dust storms in the city, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) temporarily suspended flight operations for around 66 minutes due to low visibility and gusty winds. Operations resumed at 17:03 hrs,” CSMIA said in a statement. 

For the ongoing summer schedule, the airport records around 951 air traffic movements (ATMs) daily. Each departure or arrival at an airport is classified as an air traffic movement (ATM).

The airport recorded an average delay of 26 minutes and 75 minutes for arrivals and departures, respectively, data from flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed.

Last week, Mumbai airport completed its pre-monsoon runway maintenance. Two runways of the airport were closed for a six hour period on May 9 for maintenance work. The Adani group-owned Mumbai airport saw a footfall of 52.8 million passengers in FY24, a 16 per cent increase in passenger traffic from 43.9 million in FY23.

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Disruption to daily life, businesses 

In another incident, the lift of a car parking collapsed in Wadala, severely injuring multiple individuals. The line 7 metro operations were briefly and partially (between Gundavali and Aarey Rd) disrupted for 20 minutes, according to a Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) spokesperson. The services were halted due an electricity supply disruption caused by a banner flying into the over-head wires.

Suburban services on Central Railway were affected after an overhead equipment pole between Thane and Mulund stations bent due to strong winds. Gusty winds and rain were recorded in Dadar, Kurla, Mahim, Worli, Ghatkopar, Mulund and Vikhroli, while other parts of south Mumbai witnessed light drizzle.

Towns such as Thane, Ambernath, Badlapur, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar received moderate showers with gusty winds.

With inputs from PTI