Four dead as monsoon deluge sparks Mumbai chaos

A six-year- old boy was among four people killed after severe flooding hit India’s financial hub Mumbai, resulting in dozens of cancelled or delayed flights, officials said yesterday. Mumbai -- home to 20 million people -- has been hit by torrential downpours over the past two months amid the annual monsoon deluge.

Non-stop rain over several hours on Wednesday paralysed traffic, halted trains and delayed airport operations at the western city. “We recovered a six-year-old boy Abubakar’s body from the drains after yesterday’s flooding,” Mumbai police official Shashikant Awghade said. Awghade said the child fell into a drain during the deluge on Wednesday. His parents searched for him through the night, but his body was only found by police early Thursday.

Two municipal officers died after “falling in rainwater” and another man drowned in a river on Wednesday, the city’s disaster management cell spokesman Tanaji Kamble said.Residents spoke of being trapped in traffic for several hours amid chaotic scenes. “It was a nightmare and the entire city came to a standstill,” chartered accountant Kevin Gogri said.

Maharashtra state government minister Ashish Shelar said schools would be closed on Thursday “as a precautionary measure”. Many office workers stayed at home amid warnings of heavy rain from the meteorological department, although conditions eased later in the day