Eight days after the collapse of a century-old colonial bridge in Mahad, Indian Navy divers, challenged by crocodiles, found the debris of a state transport bus on Thursday, an official confirmed.
Two state transport buses went missing after they had plunged into the river on August 3.
“After a long search and working for 12-14 hours daily for the last eight days, naval teams have located two wreckages of a bus submerged in the waters at Mahad,” a defence spokesperson said.
The divers, according to the Navy, searched relentlessly “despite the presence of crocodiles, high current, tough conditions in the river.”
The two buses had fallen into the swollen Savitri river with 22 people when the British-era bridge, weakened by a 72-hour unceasing downpour, collapsed suddenly on the intervening night of August 3.
The remains of the two busses were found around 200 metres from the site where the bridge collapsed.
Considered to be one of the worst road tragedies in the state, rescuers have managed to recover only 26 bodies so far.
The bridge was to be bulldozed down this December as part of a highway expansion project, said the Maharashtra government on Wednesday. Maharashtra government was accused of ignoring a warning from the UK that the bridge is too old and dangerous.
State minister Chandrakant Patil said there are about 2,300 bridges in the state and around 100 were built either in the British era or even further back, in the 17th century.
Tags: MAHAD RIVER
