Mumbai: All 582 passengers stuck in the Mumbai Monorail near Mysore Colony between Chembur and Bhakti Park were rescued by the Mumbai Fire Brigade of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) with the help of snorkel (ladder) vehicles on Tuesday, August 19.
A Monorail train came to a sudden halt amid heavy rains on Tuesday.
The passengers who were rescued said panic prevailed inside the train, which runs on an elevated track, with several people complaining of suffocation as the AC system shut down.
Overcrowding led to halt, claims MMRDA
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) claimed “overcrowding” as the reason behind the halt.
“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.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an enquiry into the incident.
Medical teams were present at the spot, and BEST buses have been provided to ferry rescued passengers, Commissioner Gagrani said.
“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.
(This copy has been updated with a new headline and latest statement from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority)
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