Choppers, divers on raging river after a colonial bridge collapses on Mumbai-Goa highway

The latest updates of the collapse of a British-era bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway suggest that two bodies were recovered and twenty-two are believed to be missing, feared dead, after an incessant 72-hour downpour, late on Tuesday night, taking two State-transport buses and two private cars in its tug.

While the number of cars that plunged into the river is yet to be ascertained, eight-ten vehicles are feared to have fallen into the river.

Image source: DDNS

Whilst rescue operations began only on Wednesday morning, the non-terminating rains and the raging waters of the river Savitri have exacerbated the discovery of any wreckage of the two State transport buses which are surmised to have fallen off following the collapse of the 50-foot bridge connecting the city of Mahad with Poladpur.

A Tavera SUV carrying a family of seven is suspected to be missing.

22 people , including a crew, were reportedly travelling in the two buses, prompting political recrimination and issues of negligence into sharp relief.

Basant Kumar Mishra, a driver who was among those who took the initiative to warn other vehicles, thus averting tragedy, said: “I was screaming for the other vehicles to stop when I discovered to my horror that the bridge no longer existed. I saw three cars, of the ‘Wagon R’ type fall off into the water and tried calling 100 to no avail.”

Two aircrafts, a chetak chopper and 80 rescuers and divers searched for vehicles believed to have fallen into the flooded river with dozens of people.

Along with the two Sea King aircrafts also searching for debris, there have been at least four sorties since morning.

Navy teams on inflatable dinghies negotiated strong currents to get to the bridge.

Image Source: NDTV

Around 80 rescuers and divers were at the spot, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) says. This increased to almost 200 personnel in a few hours.

“Each team consist of 40 people and there are four teams. We will start from the bridge and move 10 meters by clearing the area with the help of divers,” said Anupam Shrivastava of the disaster management body.

The 50-foot bridge was built more than seven decades ago in Mahad town, and lies along the highway connecting Mumbai to the popular holiday destination Goa.

Source(s): NDTV and The Hindu

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About Isha Kulkarni

Writing means a lot of different things to a lot of people. To me, it is a way to rant about wrongdoings and enrich my way of portraying what I feel. An aficionado for vocabulary, I'm a logophile at heart and a prolific calligrapher.