Schoolgirls hold hands and navigate their way through a flooded street as it rains in Mumbai on Wednesday. AP

Mumbai — home to 20 million people — has been hit by torrential downpours over the past two months amid the annual monsoon deluge.

Non-stop rain over several hours on Wednesday paralysed traffic, halted trains and delayed airport operations at the western city.

"We recovered a six-year-old boy Abubakar's body from the drains after yesterday's flooding," Mumbai police official Shashikant Awghade told AFP on Thursday.

Awghade said the child fell into a drain during the deluge on Wednesday. His parents searched for him through the night, but his body was only found by police early on Thursday.

Two municipal officers died after "falling in rainwater" and another man drowned in a river on Wednesday, the city's disaster management cell spokesman Tanaji Kamble told AFP.

A 24-year old youth drowned in the Mahim Creek near Kurla and his body was fished out by the Mumbai  Fire Brigade later in the evening.
One boy, who had jumped into the swollen Mithi River for a swim along with three friends, is still missing, while the Indian Navy has launched a search for him since Thursday morning.

People ride on a truck on a flooded road after a heavy rainfall in Mumbai. Reuters

Residents spoke of being trapped in traffic for several hours amid chaotic scenes.

"It was a nightmare and the entire city came to a standstill," chartered accountant Kevin Gogri told AFP.

Maharashtra state government minister Ashish Shelar said schools would be closed on Thursday "as a precautionary measure."

Agence France-Presse