Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Tuesday that the monorail that got stuck near Mysore Colony has been stranded on a curve on the several-feet-high track due to overloading.
According to Shinde, heavy rain in the city led to overcrowding on the monorail train, which caused the brakes to jam. 582 passengers were on board the monorail.
"Due to the closure of Harbour Line, several passengers started travelling in the Monorail. This led to overcrowding in the train, and a power breakdown occurred. Due ot the power breakdown, emergency brakes were applied and the train stopped. Our priority is to rescue passengers from the train. I spoke with the Municipal Commissioner. Officials of MMRDA, BMC, Fire Brigade and police are present at the spot. I also spoke with some of the passengers. The rescue operation will be finished in a while now. Medical teams are present at the spot. The passengers will soon reach their homes safely. We will ensure that this incident is not repeated," the deputy CM said.
BJP MLA Captain Tamil Selvan also said the incident happened due to overcrowding.
{{/usCountry}}BJP MLA Captain Tamil Selvan also said the incident happened due to overcrowding.
{{/usCountry}}"This happened because of the overload of passengers. The passengers should have thought about the train's capacity. All are safe now. The public should have thought about the limit of the train. BMC and MMRDA arrived here and rescued all the passengers. A major accident has been averted," he told ANI.
Earlier, Astik Pandey, joint commissioner of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, said the train was loaded beyond capacity.
“The capacity of the monorail is 109 metric tonnes. On Tuesday, it was overloaded due to excessive crowds. On a curve, there was a mechanical disconnect of the electric current. After that, the emergency brake was deployed, hence the rake stopped working,” he said.
Passengers were brought out by breaking the windowpanes of a monorail that was stranded for nearly two hours and counting in Mumbai around 8:30 PM on Tuesday after it lost its power supply amid heavy rain.
Rescuers first tried to tow the four-coach monorail to the nearest station with the help of another monorail, but the brakes remained jammed, officials told HT.
Truck-mounted scissor lifts, cranes, and ladders were then deployed. Four buses were also deployed to transport passengers home once they had been rescued. All the passengers were eventually brought out.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said an inquiry will be conducted.
The monorail service between Chembur and Bhakti Park has been closed since 6.15 PM, when passengers contacted the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's emergency number 1916 for immediate help. The fire brigade started relief work soon after, with the help of three snorkel vehicles at first.
The Maha Mumbai Metro Operation Corporation earlier issued a statement on the matter: “One Monorail train near Mysore Colony station has experienced a minor power supply issue. Our operations and maintenance teams are already on-site and working to resolve it quickly. For now, services between Wadala and Chembur are running smoothly on a single line. We sincerely thank you for your patience and assure you that your safety remains our top priority."