Thanks to a well-coordinated operation mounted by multiple agencies, nearly 1,050 passengers on board Kolhapur-bound Mahalaxmi Express were rescued on Saturday in 17 hours after the train was stranded near Vangani in Thane district due to flooding on tracks following heavy rains.

The Kalyan-Ulhasnagar-Badlapur belt of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region received extremely heavy downpour — between 280 to 330 mm — over Friday and Saturday. This led to flooding of the Ulhas river which trapped the Mumbai-Kolhapur Mahalaxmi Express between and Vangani stations on the Central Railway at 10 pm

The train had left Mumbai for Kolhapur on Friday night, but could not travel beyond Vangani, where it reached in the wee hours Saturday. Due to incessant rains, water nearly reached the train’s footboard, triggering panic among passengers.

Teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Navy, Air Force, Army, Railways and state administration was quickly mobilized and rescue operation was mounted. Two columns of the Army, fire brigade units, eight teams of Navy and three helicopters were involved in the operations that lasted close to 17 hours. 37 doctors were also part of the rescue teams.

Central Railway (CR) officials said all the passengers, including nine pregnant women, were rescued by 3 pm. Among the stranded passenger rescued were senior citizens, infants, children and few physically-challenged passengers. Passengers were helped onto inflatable boats and then taken to higher ground from where they reached a relief centre by road.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised the rescue teams and said the Centre was closely monitoring the situation.

"A special train with 19 coaches will leave from Kalyan to Kolhapur with the affected passengers of the Mahalaxmi Express," a Railway official said. Officials involved in the rescue operation said the nine pregnant women and a one-month-old baby girl were also safe.

Maharashta Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also praised the multi-agency operations.