Mumbai: Mumbai was limping back to normalcy on Monday after the deluge over the weekend that caused the death of seven people and injured many more as house collapsed and trees uprooted.

According to fire brigade sources, at least four house collapses have been reported in the city since Friday. At least one person was drowned in flood waters, according to the police. The weather bureau has warned fishermen against venturing into the sea.

The unfavorable weather conditions also caused the death of 12 picnickers who had ventured to the Aksa beach. According to the police, one youth chased a ball into the sea and got trapped in the quicksand while the others perished trying to save him. All of them were in the age group of 15 to 25.

"It is doubtful whether the bodies will be recovered," a police official said. Even a naval helicopter employed for rescue operations could not be deployed due to inclement weather. The Navy, which keeps track of deaths on the Aksa beach round the year, says 30 persons have died here in 2000.

In a slum colony in Navi Mumbai, the fire brigade deployed boats to rescue persons trapped by flood waters. In all, 300 persons were rowed to safety, according to the police and fire brigade. "If we had not hired boats to rescue people, many would have died," a fire brigade spokesman was quoted as saying in the local press.

Residents of the country's commercial capital could be in for some more wet days, according to the weather bureau. Moderate rain accompanied by heavy winds has been forecast for Monday. On Sunday alone, the city received 85 mm of rain. The total rain received during the entire season amounted to 1,039 mm, according to officials.

"We received numerous enquries from the public as to whether it was safe to venture out," a person manning the police control room told India Abroad News Service. Railway officials noted that had the deluge occurred on a working day, the entire city's schedule would have gone haywire.

Railway services were disrupted across the city. The services of the controversial Konkan Railway went totally out of schedule due to landslides in the ecologically unstable Konkan region. "Our services have been suspended or diverted through other routes," an official at the booking office said.