Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the bridge appeared to have collapsed after being pounded by the flooded river. As per the information from the sources, almost 22 people were missing due to the bridge collapse at highway. Authorities, however, are trying to ascertain if the body is from the bridge collapse.
Advertisement
The bridge was about 5 km from the town of Mahad in Maharashtra’s Raigad District, about 170 km south of Mumbai. Rescue operations were undertaken by the divers of NDRF team.
“Also, we have kept two teams in Mumbai and two teams in Pune in stand-by mode, and they would be roped in as and when needed”, he said.
Raising the issue in the State Assembly, former CM Prithviraj Chavan yesterday said a judicial probe should be conducted and action taken against those guilty of allowing the old bridge to remain open for traffic.
High pressure from the flooding of Savitri River caused the collapse, Chief Minister of Maharashtra state Devandra Fadnavis said in a video statement on Facebook.
Dhavalikar also said that there were three major bridges in Goa’s Bicholim, Sanvordem and Quepem areas which were constructed during the Portuguese era. Teams of disaster management force has joined the Coast Guard and other agencies engaged in rescue and relief operations.
Collector Ugale said, “Two choppers of Navy and Coast Guard were involved in the operation while two choppers of IAF have carried out reconnaissance”. The ICG is also diverting another Sea King 42B aircraft to help with the mission.
In addition, relatives of two families have come forth and claimed that their kin, who were travelling from Guhaghar to Mumbai in a Tavera, have been missing since Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena today questioned the logic behind giving all-clear certificate for the bridge three months ago.
He further directed National Highways Authority of India to immediately undertake fix work on Mumbai-Goa NH & complete work before 25 August 2016. Since morning, 35 people are giving their best in the operation.
A body was found 100 kms from the accident site.
Advertisement
The bridge over the Savitri river had been crumbling for quite a few years and had been held up by crash barriers.
