Bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway collapses; 22 people and 2 buses missing

[Rajkumar]

:'( :'( :'( Bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway collapses; 22 people and 2 buses missing

Around 22 people are missing after a British-era bridge across the Savitri River on the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed late on Tuesday night. Two Mumbai-bound buses are among the dozen or so vehicles that are believed to have fallen into the flooded river.

Officials of the district administration and police rushed to the spot and restored traffic through a new bridge not far away. Three teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), comprising of about 80 personnel including divers, have been pressed into rescue operations. Heavy rain in the area are slowing the rescue operations down.

A helicopter of the Coast Guard is presently being used to spot possible survivors.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and offered his support.

No survivors or vehicles have been found so far. The Savitri River is presently seeing a swell in its water level thanks to heavy monsoonal rain that has lashed the area. and offered Traffic on the busy highway, which had been brought to a standstill, has been diverted to a new bridge nearby.

Bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway collapses; 22 people and 2 buses missing - Times of India?

 

[AbhiJiet]

Very Sad :'(
Its near my hometown.

 

[Rajkumar]

 

[Sarkar]

Fire PWD officials from job and arrest them  :angry

 

[Shiva mahesh]

:angry

 

[im_dude]

If the Bridge is in poor condition then why it was not closed for traffic

 

[rahul1117kumar]

Mumbai-Goa highway bridge too old: Britain had warned state in 2013


Even as search operations continue as 22 people are missing after two buses were swept away in the swollen Savitri river after a British-era bridge collapsed on the Mumbai-Goa Highway near Mahad in Maharashtra’s Raigad district late on Tuesday night, questions about the safety of the bridge are being asked.

According to a three-year-old article published in Lokmat , the bridge was in a terrible condition and the National Highways Authority who were aware of the condition did nothing to fix it.

The 100-year-old bridge, inaugurated in 1927, had been in use for almost 10 years before its formal inauguration.

Public Works Department officials and National Highways Authority of India officials said that the British government warns its Indian counterpart when bridges built on highways and railway lines during the colonial rule near the end of their expected lifespan and recommend their closure or demolition.

A railway official confirmed such a practice among the British authorities.

“We are regularly informed about aged bridges and structures.”

A senior PWD official said, “I’m told that the British had informed us about the Savitri bridge as well.”

Officials said that British-era bridges are made of stone and have arches and the problem with this type of construction is that whenever any joint in the bridge collapses, the entire structure can fall down.

In case of the Mumbai-Goa Highway bridge, peepal trees had started growing in the cracks between the stones, which weakened the bridge further. The condition would be worst during rains as trees would grow further.

Mumbai-Goa highway bridge too old: Britain had warned state in 2013 - Rediff.com India News