Bombay Monsoon
Maharashtra monsoon 'kills 100'
Rains beat Cherrapunji record :
Mumbai today:94.4 centimeters (37.1 inches) in one day in suburban Mumbai
Cherrapunji:3.82 centimeters (33 inches) on July 12, 1910



The strongest rains ever recorded in India shut down the financial hub Mumbai today, snapped communication lines, closed airports and marooned thousands of people, according to officials.

Commuters struggle to work on Wednesday
Monsoon rains are continuing to cause havoc in India's Maharashtra state where the official death toll has now risen to nearly 100.
The state's chief minister says Tuesday's rain was the heaviest recorded in a single day in India.

Nearly one-third of the state capital, Mumbai (Bombay), is under water.

Schools are closed and trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange has been light. The armed forces have been called in to take part in rescue efforts.



Villages inaccessible

Maharashtra's Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh says it is now known that 99 people have been drowned or killed in mudslides in the state since heavy rain began on Sunday.



Nearly one-third of Mumbai is under water




Most of the deaths are reported in the Raigad and Ratnagiri districts. Twenty-two people are confirmed dead in Mumbai.

"We have not been able to reach some villages where more than several dozen people may be missing in landslides," Krishna Vatsa, the official in charge of the relief efforts, told Reuters news agency.



Major fire off Mumbai coast, ONGC platform destroyed.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005 (New Delhi, Mumbai):


A major fire has broken out at one of the oil platforms in Bombay High oil fields of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

The fire broke out at the main oil processing platform of the Bombay High North field, which is connected to two other platforms.

According to initial reports, the platform has been completely destroyed in the fire which began at 4.30 pm (IST).

"We had a major accident. We don't have details as of now. We are assessing the damage," said Subir Raha, ONGC Chairman and MD.

The Coast Guard has rescued 150 ONGC employees from the site of the accident while 200 others are still stranded



Little information

However, there is little information available on casualty figures and possible damage as incessant rains in the area have snapped all communications links.

The cause of the fire at the platform, located some 160-km from Mumbai coast, is also not known yet.

Unconfirmed reports suggest that the fire was triggered after two oil rigs collided.

Sources say the plant where the accident occurred has the capacity to produce 50 lakh tonnes of crude oil per annum



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