MUMBAI – At least 34 people died in Mumbai following landslides, caused by heavy monsoon rainfall, which hit their homes. The Indian emergency services report.
In the suburb of Chembur, in the eastern area of India’s financial capital, a tree fell and destroyed a wall, burying some houses. So far 17 bodies have been extracted from the rubble and rescuers are looking for the missing.
In the neighborhood of Vikhroli, in the north east of Mumbai, six people were killed by a landslide that swept away five homes.
Mumbai has been affected by heavy rains since Saturday which caused serious disruption to the transport system. Meteorological services predict that copious rainfall will continue to plague the metropolis, home to 20 million people, for at least another two days. The prime minister, Narendra Modi, expressed his condolences on Twitter and guaranteed economic compensation to the families of the victims.
During the monsoon season, from June to September, collapses of buildings are common in India, due to the age and poor state of maintenance of the structures. Last month, the collapse of a building in a slum in the city claimed 12 lives. Last September, a three-story building collapsed in Bhiwandi, near Mumbai, and 39 people died.
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