M A I N   N E W S

Midnight stampede in Mumbai kills 19
Tribune News Service

A family member carries out an injured child from Mumbai's Kooper Hospital on Friday after a tsunami scare caused a stampede in the Nehru Nagar slums of Mumbai on Thursday night. — PTI photo

Mumbai, July 29
The Mumbai police arrested 17 persons for spreading false rumours of a tsunami striking the city which claimed 19 lives late on Thursday night.

The police said rumours spread in different parts of Mumbai and surrounding areas of Thane and Kalyan on Thursday night about dams bursting thereby causing panic.

Late in the evening, rumour of a tsunami striking Mumbai’s coast caused the residents of the Nehru Nagar slum adjoining the Juhu beach to flee. As hundreds of people scrambled through the narrow lanes, 19 persons, including eight children, were trampled to death in the stampede. The number of injured in the incident is 21.

Meanwhile, parts of Mumbai continue to be affected by Tuesday’s deluge. The city’s train services have been restored only partially as coaches and engines have been severely damaged in the rains. Both Central and Western Railway will restore services in the coming week. Outstation trains leaving Mumbai have been cancelled the rains continue to lash parts of the state and neighboring Gujarat.

According to state police, the toll in this week’s deluge has crossed the 700 mark.