At least 245 people have died in landslides and building collapses in western India following the heaviest rains recorded to date in the country, a government minister and police said on Thursday.
At least 88 of the deaths took place in the Maharashtra state capital, Mumbai, which is India’s financial centre, Maharashtra deputy chief minister RR Patil said.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra state police control room said 157 people had died in wall collapses, landslides and drownings in other parts of the state, which has been lashed by monsoon rains since Monday.
”Another 200 people are feared dead across the state,” said an official in the control room, asking to remain anonymous.
The torrential rains had eased on Thursday but skies remained overcast and more rain was forecast.
”Moderate rains are expected in the city on Thursday, while heavy rains are expected in the suburbs of Mumbai,” a weather official said.
The city’s weather bureau said that Mumbai received 94,42cm of rainfall in a 24-hour period ending mid-morning on Wednesday, the most rainfall recorded to date in a single day in India and beating a record that has stood since July 1910.
Aerial pictures of Mumbai telecast by the Hindi news channel Aaj Tak showed large parts of the city marooned in debris-laden water.
Long queues of cars, trucks and other vehicles were seen stranded on main arteries and highways linking different parts of the city.
Schools in Maharashtra that closed on Wednesday remained shut, while banks and stock markets were also closed on Thursday.
Authorities were air dropping food and water to stranded residents of Mumbai and Raighad district, about 170km south of the city, Aaj Tak reported.
At least 10 dead in oil blaze
Meanwhile, rescuers battling towering seas through the night rescued 351 workers from a blazing Indian offshore oil platform but at least 10 people died and a search was under way for several still missing, a minister said on Thursday.
Oil Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar told Parliament that 384 personnel had to abandon the platform when it caught fire on Wednesday afternoon, of whom 351 had been rescued.
”So far, 10 personnel are confirmed dead,” Aiyar said.
It was unclear on Thursday how many people were still missing, with various officials giving conflicting figures ranging from six to 34.
Some workers jumped into the Arabian Sea and clambered on to lifeboats while others scrambled to safety via a bridge to another rig, coast-guard officials said.
The giant platform belonging to the state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), located about 160km west of Mumbai, produces about 100 000 barrels of crude a day. It collapsed into the ocean soon after erupting in flame.
Authorities launched a massive rescue operation, sending eight naval and coast-guard ships, two aircraft and four helicopters from the air force and navy.
”The injured were provided first aid by doctors and paramedics immediately on rescue,” Aiyar said.
Vice-Admiral Madanjit Singh, commander-in-chief of Western Naval Command, said earlier on Thursday that rescue operations were continuing in treacherous conditions.
”It is a difficult scenario due to uncertain rains,” he said.
Singh said there was no confirmation yet of how the blaze began.
”It might have been caused due to a survey ship hitting the leg of the structure of the platform,” he said.
A ship carrying 129 people rescued from the fire reached Mumbia’s Victoria Docks on Thursday afternoon. They were greeted with jubilation by loved ones.
”We tried to rescue whoever we could … there was no light at night, we had to use flashlights to find people,” said one rescuer in a television interview, as rescued workers hugged family members and called friends and relatives on cellphones.
Military boats through the night criss-crossed the choppy waters in search of bodies but the rescue effort was being hampered by foul weather and unusally high seas, with India in full monsoon season.
Apart from the human casualties, the complete destruction of the oil platform is expected to cost India’s oil supply dear.
The ONGC is India’s largest company by market capitalisation. It has extensive oil production and exploration operations abroad, including in Sudan and Russia. — Sapa-AFP