Journalism of Courage
An old bridge on the Mumbai-Goa highway near Mahad collapsed in the wee hours of Wednesday morning in the Raigad district in the Konkan region due to heavy rains.
Two bodies have been recovered and dozens are missing. Rescue operations are underway. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the primary reason for the bridge collapse seems to be the flooding of River Savitri due to heavy rains in the catchment area of Mahabaleshwar.
Among the vehicles that have likely been swept away are two state buses carrying 22 passengers, two bus drivers and two conductors. One of the buses was traveling from Jaigarh to Mumbai and the other was traveling from Rajapur to Borivali.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the primary reason for the bridge collapse seems to be the flooding of River Savitri due to heavy rains in the catchment area of Mahabaleshwar.
The new bridge was closed for operations immediately after the old bridge collapsed to check its structural stability. One-way traffic had resumed on the new bridge by 9 am on Wednesday.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force rushed to the spot for rescue operations. The Coast Guard also launched a helicopter at 8.30 am to search for people swept away from the bridge.
Indian Coast Guard launched the Chetak Helicopter to carry out searches for people who were swept away. The helicopter is carrying on searches.
Maharashtra PWD will conduct a structural audit of all 36 bridges in the Konkan region over the next 15 days.
PWD Minister for public undertakings Eknath Shinde issued the directions considering a large number of people will travel from Mumbai and Pune to the Konkan region for the upcoming Ganpati festival in September.
Four NDRF teams comprising 115 personnel, including divers along with 12 boats, were immediately rushed to Maharashtra bridge collapse site, said Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the Lok Sabha.
Two bodies have been recovered so far, says Raigad district collector, Sheetal Ugale.
“There were two parallel bridges; one is a new bridge and one constructed during the British era. The old one collapsed.”
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is closely monitoring the situation and has been providing updates of the government’s efforts on Twitter.
The Savitri River flows through the Konkan region in Mahad.
