SpiceJet plane stuck in mud as Mumbai gets soaked by heavy rain
Passenger jet skidded on landing, forcing closure of main runway at airport
Dozens of flights were diverted from Mumbai after a SpiceJet plane overshot the runway and became stuck in the mud as heavy rain lashed India’s financial capital and caused travel chaos Wednesday.
Schools and colleges also closed for the day as a precaution after severe monsoon rain late Tuesday and overnight led to fears of widespread flooding.
The storms came three weeks after 10 people were killed when torrential rain deluged Mumbai, flooding homes and railway lines and shutting down the city for two days.
On Wednesday airport officials were trying to move the SpiceJet plane which skidded on landing at around 10:00pm on Tuesday and forced the closure of the main runway.
All 183 passengers were safely evacuated from the Varanasi to Mumbai flight after it missed the runway and “skidded off into the unpaved surface” due to wet conditions, the airline said in a statement.
“The main runway is out of use due to heavy rains. Only the secondary runway is operational and it can only handle a limited number of flights,” Veena Chiplunkar, a spokeswoman for the international airport, said.
