In a heart-wrenching tragedy, a four-month-old infant reportedly slipped from a man's arm and plunged into a flooded drain near Thakurli town of the district, here on Wednesday afternoon.
The shocking incident occurred when an Ambernath-bound suburban local train had stopped between Thakurli and Kalyan stations as the railway tracks were flooded owing to torrential rains in the district since last night.
After waiting for over an hour, many of the commuters in the train jumped off the train and started walking to their respective destinations.
One of the coaches of the train was over a raging drain dotted with trees and thick bushes on both sides, and there were some utility pipelines beside the railway tracks.
Thane social worker Binu Varghese, citing local eyewitnesses, said that most commuters managed to safely cross over the drain to the other side.
A young woman and her brother-in-law, along with her infant child, also took courage to walk over the narrow pipes on the drain.
Suddenly, the child, which was in the man's arms, slipped off and dropped straight into the swirling dark waters of the swollen drain below, even as the horrified mother started screaming.
As the rain continued and the drain was flowing fast, there was little they could do except wait for help, even as videos of the woman and her relative pointing towards the drain went viral.
After word passed to the Thakurli and Kalyan stations, teams of the Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police and SDRF rushed to the spot to carry out a search operation.
The rescuers with ropes and other gear scoured the vicinity, including the bushes but the infant remained untraced till darkness fell and the rainfall continued.
"I am in constant touch with the rescue teams but so far there is no sign of the infant. The mother is inconsolable and in a state of shock... The authorities are trying to ascertain the details of the family and are expected to give an update later," said Varghese.
A SDRF official said that the 'child' is missing and all efforts are on to trace the infant.
The entire coastal belt of Maharashtra comprising Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts has experienced very heavy rains in the past 24 hours, with many districts put on red or orange alert till Saturday.
The state government closed offices early today and allowed the staffers to leave for their homes in view of the incessant rains.
The Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has termed the incident as unfortunate.
This evening, the Chief Minister also took a review of the rainfall and flood situation affecting large parts of the state, the transport and communication and all rescue agencies are kept ready for deployment in any emergencies, said an official.
(With inputs from IANS)
