FOB collapse claims lives of three nurses
Devendra Fadnavis orders high-level probe into incident.
Mumbai: Six people were killed and at least 35 others were injured after a century-old foot overbridge (FOB) collapsed outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).
Three out of the deceased, Apoorva Prabhu, Ranjana Tambe, and Bhakti Shinde, were nurses employed with the nearby GT and St. George Hospitals.
The bridge was widely used by the public to cross the road outside the station. The structure falls under the A ward of the BMC, but assistant commissioner Kiran Dighavkar, and chief engineer Sanjay Darade were unavailable for comment.
An eyewitness, who was waiting at the signal, said, “We all were waiting impatiently at the signal as it was red. Before the signal turned green, the bridge came down along with people on it. Had the signal turned green earlier, the situation would have been worse.”
“It is the time when entire Mumbai rushes to CSMT to return home. We also wanted to reach home early, but now I feel relieved that the signal was red. Otherwise, I could have been injured as well,” he said. A taxi driver, who was near the bridge when the tragedy struck, had a providential escape, though his vehicle suffered damage.
The injured have been rushed to the state-run GT Hospital and St. George Hospital. The relative of one victim, Ayushi Jain (21), who had come to St George Hospital to shift her to a private hospital, said, “She was coming from work and she was climbing the bridge when it collapsed. We have just come to know that she has suffered a fracture.”
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis clarified that the authorities had already conducted a structural audit of the structure and found nothing wrong.
He has now ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident.