Mahad Tragedy: Two Buses With 22 Missing As Bridge Collapses

Of two parallel bridges that run along the stretch, the old bridge that was constructed during the British era, and used for vehicular traffic from Goa to Mumbai, was the one that collapsed.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he is monitoring the situation.

As of 9 am on Wednesday, at least 7-8 private vehicles and two Mumbai-bound state transport buses are believed to have fallen in the river.

The remaining parts of an old bridge that collapsed on Mumbai-Goa highway in western India sending vehicles plunging into the river. “Administration is ascertaining strength and stability of new bridge”, he said.

Rescuers raced to the crumbled bridge south of the financial capital of Mumbai to search for the passengers swept away following the accident late last night.

“Traffic on highway is stopped”. No casualties have been confirmed so far but an eyewitness has claimed that two cars were washed away.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Fadnavis and assured him full support and assistance from the Centre.

NDRF teams are already activated, he tweeted.

A 40 member team of the National Disaster Relief Force with five boats were rushed to Nashik on Tuesday evening after Godavari water levels rose dramatically due to heavy rainfall and release of water from overflowing dams. Heavy rains are causing a hurdle in the rescue operation.