Besides the buses, several other vehicles are also believed to have fallen into the swollen river.
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The major Highway Bridge from Goa to Mumbai was collapsed Wednesday morning 22 people are missing 2 busses have collapsed!
Traffic on the Mumbai-Goa highway has been diverted to a new bridge nearby. The Indian Coast Guard has also deployed Chetak helicopters – Sea King 42C and Sea King 42B to assist in the search.
Following the accident, traffic between Mumbai and Goa came to a halt for some time, but resumed on a parallel bridge later.
The old British-era bridge could not withstand the high pressure triggered by the flooding of River Savitri due to torrential rains in Mahabaleswar and collapsed.
He said early reports indicated that at least two buses, travelling on the old bridge, fell into the Savitri River which was flooded by heavy monsoon rains. In this 24 hours rescue team were unable to find the vehicles and the people.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Fadnavis and offered all assistance in the rescue and search operations.
By late afternoon, grieving relatives of the passengers on the two buses and one of the private vehicles reached Mahad and anxiously waited for information about the fate of their kin. “Administration has rushed to spot for rescue and immediate measures”, Fadnavis said, referring to the district police chief.
Mumbai-Goa highway bridge collapse: NDRF teams are already activated, he tweeted. The Savitri river originates in Mahabaleshwar, Satara district, which has received over 800 mm rainfall since Sunday. “Administration will ensure speedy rescue and relief operations”.
He further directed National Highways Authority of India to immediately undertake fix work on Mumbai-Goa NH & complete work before 25 August 2016.
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The over 120 metre bridge was built around 1928 and connects Mahad town to Poladpur in coastal Maharashtra, around 180 km south of Mumbai.
