Mumbai: The President’s Medal for Gallantry has been announced for 13 fire officials and personnel, including the Chief Fire Officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade, on the occasion of Independence Day for performing extraordinary duty and rescuing stranded passengers after a Monorail rake got stuck between Bhakti Park and Mysore Colony for two hours on August 19 last year.Officers and personnel of the Fire Department risked their lives to rescue as many as 582 passengers from the Monorail rake, which was at a height of 40 to 50 feet, and also ensured that there was no loss of life.Passengers were stuck and suffocating inside the Monorail rake, which was stranded due to a technical glitch that led to a power cut. While a few passengers fainted inside the rake, others were seen banging on the glass windows and pleading for help. It took about two hours to begin the rescue as the power supply had to be severed first.The fire brigade personnel who will receive the President’s Medal for Gallantry are RN Ambulgekar, AV Parab, MV Sawant, IK Kamble, YH Pawar, DA Bhosale, Rajesh Rane, Mahesh Gudulkar, Ramesh Koli, Harshal Katke, Chintamani Khandekar, Vicky Sarvade and Sudarshan Pavade.“This was the largest rescue operation in the world and it was the most difficult and complicated operation, as the Monorail rake had tilted completely and was likely to collapse. Passengers were trying to come out as they were unable to breathe and were suffocating. We first reached out to the passengers and assured them. Even installing ladders was a complicated task. We broke open the doors and first got the senior citizens, children and women passengers out, and then the young. But we got all of them out,” said Ravindra Ambulgekar, Chief Fire Officer of the Mumbai Fire Brigade.There was another incident involving a Monorail coach, which stopped abruptly between Acharya Atre and the Wadala Monorail station at 7.33pm on the same day. Passengers were stuck inside the Monorail, which was later towed to Wadala station after restoration of the electric supply. Around 200 passengers were rescued.
