Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 20 : 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).
Out of 582 rescued passengers, suffocation of 23 passengers were treated onsite by the onboard doctor of the 108 ambulance and allowed to go.
Two patients were sent to Sion Hospital. As per information from Dr Mukesh, AMO, Sion Hospital, two persons, Kismat Kumar, 20 years, and Vivek Sonavane, 28 years, were treated on OPD basis, both are stable.
A Mumbai Monorail train broke down between Bhakti Park and Chembur stations near Mysore Colony on Tuesday evening, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded. The breakdown occurred due to a power supply failure caused by overcrowding, which exceeded the train's designed capacity.
The rescue operation was carried out by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), fire department personnel, and police.
Firefighters used snorkel vehicles to rescue passengers, while BEST buses were deployed to transport them to nearby railway stations. The rescue operation took over three and a half hours to complete, with 582 passengers safely evacuated
The Chief Fire Officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade, Ravindra Ambulgekar, speaking to ANI on Mumbai Monorail stalled, mentioned, "Some people had problems of suffocation and breathing issues, but all are safe. Once they were taken out, everything was normal. Everyone has been rescued safely."
"A total of 582 people have been rescued. We arrived after 10 minutes and assured all the passengers that they were safe and would be rescued safely. All the passengers are safe and the rescue operation has been completed," he informed further.
The Additional CP East Region, Mahesh Patil, informed, "At around 6:30 PM, we were informed that the Monorail had stopped. Police staff, along with the fire brigade and BMC, reached here and started a rescue operation. All passengers have been rescued. Approximately 585 people have been rescued safely. The rescue operation has been successfully completed. There is no information of injury or casualties."
BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Amit Saini said, "Teams of the fire department and police are engaged in the rescue. The rescue operation is underway."
Passengers described the ordeal as terrifying, with some experiencing suffocation and breathing issues due to the lack of air conditioning and electricity.
"It was raining outside and growing dark rapidly. Also, the air-conditioning had shut down and we were suffocating. Worst of all, the train tilted dangerously and we were praying we would make it out alive," said Sagar Shinde, a rescued passenger
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered an inquiry into the incident, assuring that all passengers were safely evacuated.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has attributed the breakdown to overcrowding, stating that the train's weight exceeded its designed capacity due to the large number of passengers.