India, Aug. 17 -- At Varsha Nagar in Vikhroli Parksite, fear is a constant companion and denial a survival tool. But time ran out for a father and his teenage daughter in the early hours of Saturday, when a mudslide amid torrential rain buried them as they slept in their home. The slum tenement was one of many stacked one above the other on a hillside prone to mudslides in the eastern suburb.

The tragedy unfolded as Mumbai was battered by rain on Friday, and throughout the night into Saturday. Vikhroli recorded 257.5mm of rain overnight, among the highest in the suburbs.

Allamuddin Khan, a neighbour of the deceased and who lives right on top of the Parksite hill, said he heard a loud thud at around 2.30am. He rushed across to check. "It...