Andheri bridge collapse: Motorman averts major tragedy; Piyush Goyal announces Rs 5 lakh reward

Andheri bridge collapse: Chandrashekhar B Sawant was steering the Churchgate-bound train from Borivli and on nearing the Andheri station, he witnessed a part of the bridge falling which made him stop the train promptly.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: July 3, 2018 09:17 PM IST

2 min read

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Part of a road overbridge collapsed in Andheri West on Tuesday morning. At least five people suffered injuries. Express photo by Nirmal Harindran, 3-07-2018, Mumbai.

In Mumbai’s suburban Andheri, a major tragedy was averted by an alert motorman who applied the brakes in good time, stopping his train a few meters away from the site where a portion of a road overbridge had collapsed on Tuesday morning.

Chandrashekhar B Sawant was steering the Churchgate-bound train from Borivli and on nearing the Andheri station, he witnessed a part of the bridge falling which made him stop the train promptly. “I immediately applied emergency brakes when I saw the line snap. A major accident was averted as it was peak hour and a lot of people were around,” said Sawant.

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At 7:30 am on Tuesday, part of the Gokhale bridge, built in 1971, had collapsed near the eastern side of the Andheri railway station, falling upon the rail tracks. Five people were injured in the incident, out of which two were critical.

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Sawant said that the collapse was accompanied by a big thud sound of the falling debris.

Upon hearing the marvel of Sawant, Union Railways Miniter Piyush Goyal rewarded the motorman with Rs 5 lakh. An official said that Goyal “applauded the quick thinking and timely action of WR motorman Sawant at the time of the Andheri bridge mishap and announced a Rs 5 lakh reward for him.”

(With PTI inputs)

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