“The two wreckages seem to be parts of busses and were found approximately 170 and 200 meters from the collapsed bridge”. The official said spot diving was carried out despite the presence of crocodiles and tough weather conditions.
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Indian Navy divers have located the wreckage of the two buses submerged in water after a British-era bridge collapsed in Maharashtra’s Mahad region in Raigad district last week, killing 26 people.
The search teams have chose to continue the operation till they recover all the bodies and remains of swept away vehicles.
The Maharashtra government said on Wednesday that the ill-fated British-era bridge on the Savitri river in Mahad, which collapsed claiming over 20 lives, was supposed to have been dismantled last December. The Navy team has been searching for the wreckage and survivors since the morning of August 4.
The effort was in response to a request received from the State Government for undertaking search along the river for survivors and bodies, he said.
“Responding with extreme sensitivity to the collapse of Mahad Bridge and as explained earlier in various forums, it is again clarified that the collapsed bridge is not under the jurisdiction of NHAI”, it added.
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“NHAI has asked its field units to get all old bridges under NHAI’s jurisdiction inspected through project director, independent engineer and DPR consultants for their fitness”, a statement from road transport and highways ministry said. He added that it had been made a decision to conduct an engineering workshop for evolving fresh guidelines for road and bridge inspection work.
