At least 22 people are missing and feared dead after a bridge collapse sent two buses plunging into the flooded Savitri River in western India Tuesday.
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Two state transport buses with 18 passengers and four crew members had gone missing in the Mahad tragedy, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said.
The bridge, constructed in the 1940s, was the older of two parallel bridges which are on a highway connecting India’s financial capital with the tourism state of Goa.
Local legislator Bharat Gogavale had informed reporters on Wednesday about the recovery of two unidentified bodies from a spot near the bridge collapse. “The primary reason seems to be the high pressure caused due to flooding of river Savitri”.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Mr Fadnavis and offered help in the rescue operations.
A judicial inquiry has also been launched into this incident, with a team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai already assembled, Fadnavis tweeted.
Stunned by the tragedy, MSRDC Minister Eknath Shinde ordered a structural safety audit of all bridges on the busy and treacherous Mumbai-Goa highway, especially in view of the 10-day Ganeshotsav next month.
12 hours after the mishap, bodies of 2 victims have been found while the lateness of the hour and heavy rains in the area delayed rescue operations. The local administration used a large crane requisitioned from the National Highways Authority of India and a 300 kg magnet for rescue operations.
The National Disaster Response Force is using massive magnets to dredge the river to find the missing vehicles. The NDRF, with aid from the Coast Guard have been relentlessly combing the area in search of any trace of the vehicles that fell into the river.
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“It is raining heavily and the river is fast flowing, so it is nearly impossible to venture into the water and track where the vehicles are”, Satpute said by phone from the site. “Administration is ascertaining strength and stability of new bridge”, he said.
