The search and rescue operation for the Mahad tragedy saw some success on Thursday after a total of 13 bodies were found, seven of which were within a radius of 3-6 km from the accident site. One body was found 45 km away from the accident spot, while another was found at 130 km. The state government confirmed that at least 42 people are feared to have drowned in the incident, including 28 persons in two State Transport (ST) buses and 14 from private vehicles.
“Two buses of State Transport, one Tavera, and two bikes have been swept away in the incident. Of the missing people, 28 are from the State Transport buses. A judicial inquiry will be held into the incident,” said PWD minister Chandrakant Patil.
Rescue and search operations made significant progress on Thursday as the rains finally receded from 10 am until nightfall, interrupted by only a few brief spells.
The water levels of the Savitri River into which the two Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) buses and a Tavera have fallen into, had finally dropped to 5 metres, and soon bodies were seen washed up on the shore and found floating under the Dadhri bridge, about three kilometres from the site.
Around 28 marine commandos, Coast Guard personnel and 80 of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) jawans have been working in shifts through out the day. The local police and NDRF sunk a 300-kg magnet tied to a rope around 9 am into the river. The idea was to attract the vehicles that had plunged into the river. Initially, the magnet attracted what was suspected to be a sunken vehicle, but it was later revealed that the object was a pipe that had come apart following the collapse. “We thought it was a vehicle at first, but now we have realised that it is what looks like an old pipe,” said Mahad superintendent of police, Pranjali Sonawale.
The rescue operation saw a tense moment at around 11 am when a raft with NDRF and local fishermen flipped midstream and were taken on board another raft floating next to it. The current of the river was weaker on Thursday than on the previous day. The water was suspected to gush at 40 kmph on Wednesday, but was strong enough so as to flip the raft and wasn’t safe enough for the scuba divers to get in and do their job.
