At least 16 people, including seven children, died in a stampede Thursday night after rumors spread in suburban Mumbai that heavy rains have burst a dam, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

The accident occurred in the Nehru Nagar slum, where another 18 people were also injured following rumors that a dam on nearby Pawai lake had burst, according to PTI. Official efforts have failed to quell the panic.

Devastating incessant rains have wreaked havoc in India's western state of Maharashtra since Tuesday and brought the life in Mumbai, the state capital, almost to a standstill. So far hundreds of people have died and hundreds of others are still missing from the disaster.

Source: Xinhua