MUMBAI: At least 16 people were killed and six others injured after a compound wall collapsed on Tuesday due to heavy rains in Malad area here, NDRF officials said.

The incident happened around 2 am when the compound wall in Pimpripada of Malad East area collapsed and people living in shanties adjacent to wall got trapped under the debris.

NDRF officials said that the 16 deceased were the people living in the slums.

"Our team of National Disaster Response Force along with sniffer dog reached the site of the incident immediately after receiving the information. Besides, a team of fire brigade and local police also reached the spot and took the control of the situation," a senior NDRF official said.

He said that the police is investigating the case.

"Rescue operations is underway and more details are awaited. Over 10 injured are in nearby civic hospital in Jogeshwari and Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali," he said.

Meanwhile, authorities have declared Tuesday as a public holiday in Mumbai as the Indian Meteorological Department has forecasts heavy rains.

"In the wake of the extreme heavy rainfall forecast by the IMD, the Government of Maharashtra has declared a public holiday on July 2 as a precautionary measure for Mumbai city and its citizens," a civic official said.

The Central Railway has also decided to run local trains in limited corridors due to water logging in the railway tracks.

Emergency services only:

The Maharashtra government on Tuesday said that only emergency services will remain functional in Mumbai due to the incessant rains that has affected the road traffic and railways in the city.

"Based on further inputs from other agencies, we have taken the decision to keep emergency services operational. We have appealed to the people not to venture out in this situation," Brijesh Singh, the official spokesperson of the state government, said.

Several parts of Mumbai received around 100 mm rainfall since Monday morning, affecting trains and the road traffic.