Mumbai, July 27: All 700 passengers of the Mahalaxmi Express were successfully rescued by Saturday afternoon, hours after they were left stranded on board the train amid the deluge in Badlapur region. The Kolhapur-bound commuters will be taken to their destination in a special train, said the Central Railway.

"A special train with 19 coaches will leave from Kalyan to Kolhapur with the passengers of Mahalaxmi Express," said the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Central Railway. Catch Live Updates of Mumbai Rains Here.

"Teams of NDRF, Navy, IAF, Railways and state administration have safely rescued all the 700 passengers stranded on Mahalaxmi Express near Mumbai. We were closely monitoring the entire operation. Kudos to the rescue teams for their exemplary effort," Union Home Minister Amit Shah said.

Notably, the train was stranded since the wee hours of Saturday due to the "heavy to very heavy" rainfall in suburban Mumbai region for the last 24 hours.

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) was actively monitoring the rescue operation being carried out by the Central Railway. The Union Home Ministry had also extended all possible assistance to prevent any casualties in the case.

Update by ANI:

Initial reports claimed that nearly 2,000 passengers were left stranded. However, a Central Railway official clarified that only 700 commuters were onboard.

The train, with around 700 passengers, had left Mumbai for Kolhapur on Friday night, but could not travel beyond Chamtoli, where it reached early Saturday.

The National Disaster Response Force, Navy, Air Force, Railway Protection Force and local authorities had joined the rescue operation to move the passengers out of the deluged area.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai spoke to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and assured him that all Central assistance will be provided to the state. The CM had also urged the passengers to not worry.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 27, 2019 03:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).