RATNAGIRI (Maharashtra): At least 30 more are feared dead in rain-related casualties in Maharashtra after a small dam breached at Tiware near Chiplun in coastal district of Ratnagiri, about 300 km from Mumbai.
The continued heavy showers over the past few days have caused several rivers in the Konkan region to swell. The Tiware dam that started overflowing at around 9 pm on Tuesday evening breached shortly after, causing heavy damage to at least 12 houses of the nearest hamlet and inundating 7 downstream villages that have a population of over 3000.
Over 20 people are currently missing, while the NDRF team, that reaches the spot at around 2 am have recovered 6 bodies as of 9:30 am, according to news agencies.
More NDRF teams from Sindhudurg are on the way, officials have said.
The affected villages are: Daadar, Akle, Riktoli, Ovali, Kalkavne, Nandivase, with an estimated total population of around 3,000, in a hilly region, around 90 km from the district headquarters.
#WATCH: Tiware dam in Ratnagiri was breached earlier today. 6 bodies have been recovered till now. Rescue operations continue. 12 houses near the dam also washed away. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/mkgLaruaau
— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2019
Around 20 vehicles have also been washed away in the dam water.
The dam was built in 2000 and people in the area claim they had informed the district authorities of its leakage two years back but no repairs were carried out.
Recovery of the bodies of the missing people is anticipated to start downstream and in the creek region. Civil administration, police and volunteers are currently on the spot.
Mumbai, India’s Maximum City, is being pounded by record rain. The heaviest rain in the city in 24 hours in almost 15 years has caused more than 27 deaths on Tuesday alone.
Over 20 people were killed early Tuesday morning after the rains led to the collapse of a wall in Mumbai’s Malad East. Efforts by rescue workers to get a 15-year- old girl out of the debris, proved futile as she was brought out dead.
Nine deaths were caused by two wall collapses elsewhere in Maharashtra state.
Maharashtra: Bodies of 2 persons have been recovered by civil administration after Tiware dam in Ratnagiri was breached. About 22-24 people are missing. 12 houses near the dam have been washed away. Civil administration, police and volunteers are present at the spot.
— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2019
Six migrant construction workers were killed and five injured when a wall collapsed on their tin-roofed huts in Pune early on Tuesday, an officer in the city’s Police Control Room said.
In Thane district on Tuesday, a school wall collapsed and fell onto huts, killing three people and injuring one, said Lakshman Pawar, a local civic official.
Police officer Ravinder Howle said two men died after they got trapped in a submerged car, raising the overall death toll in Maharashtra to 32.
The city has witnessed incessant rainfall over the past few days and floodwaters have entered homes. A public holiday was declared for Tuesday and the Maharashtra government said only emergency services would be functional.