12 dead after heavy rains in Pune; schools and colleges shut

Twelve people have been killed in rain-related incidents in Pune after unusually heavy downpour lashed the city since late Wednesday night. The rainfall stopped in the early morning hours on Thursday. Police and district administration has so far confirmed 12 deaths -seven from Pune city and five from adjoining villages. Search is on for four missing persons. Schools and colleges in the city will remain closed on Thursday, reports ANI. Pune district collector Navalkishore Ram ordered school closure in Pune and adjoining talukas of Purandar, Bhor, Baramati and Haveli. Condoling the deaths, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state is providing all possible assistance needed. “2 NDRF teams are deployed in Pune and 2 in Baramati, state government is also closely monitoring the dam discharge,” Fadnavis said in a series of tweets on Thursday morning. Rescue teams recovered the bodies from three different areas of the city. Five bodies were recovered from Parvati- Aranyeshwar area, one body was found inside a car found floating in flood water on Singhnad Road and another was found in a canal in Sahakarnagar. According to fire brigade officials, five people died when a compound wall collapsed in Tangewali colony. Water overflowing from a nearby canal caused the wall to collapse. At least 3-4 people are still missing in the incident. Two of the five people who died in the wall collapse incident were identified as Rohit Bharat Amle, 13, and Santosh Kadam, 55. The three other casualties include two women and a 9-year-old boy.