At least 22 persons are missing as two state transport buses and a private vehicle plunged into the flooded Savitri River after a British-era bridge collapsed on the Mumbai-Goa Highway near Mahad in Raigad district around 11.45 pm on Tuesday.
No rescue operations could be conducted till Wednesday morning because of heavy rains and darkness.
The water, which was 15 metres high at the time of the incident, had reached the arches of the bridge when it collapsed. Only when the water level dropped to 10 metres at 5 pm on Wednesday did rescue efforts pick up speed.
The local administration said no vehicle had been found and an intense search was on to trace the missing people. The Coast Guard has deployed a Chetak helicopter, while two National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams with 40 personnel and around 15 rafts are engaged in rescue and relief operations. Furthermore, two Navy helicopters and local fishermen have been searching for signs of life in the river.
The police has refuted initial reports of local officers discovering two bodies. “Initially, we thought that there were two bodies, but now it seems it was only a rumour,” said superintendent of police Pranali Sonawale.
Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, accompanied by state PWD minister Chandrakant Patil and Opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, conducted an aerial survey of the area in the evening to review the progress of search and rescue operations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed about the tragedy, he said. “The PM offered all help in rescue and relief operations,” Mr Fadnavis said.
Ms Sonawale said eyewitnesses had said that they saw two buses and a private vehicle plunge into the river. “We have no way of corroborating this and neither have we the infrastructure to search the bottom of the river for bodies,” she added.
A magnet tied to a rope was dropped into the river every two hours to check the water level. Officials are awaiting the arrival of cranes from Sindhudurg. These cranes will be used to dig into the river.
Scuba divers too are to arrive by late evening, said officials. “Right now, the current is too strong for any man to enter, hence we have called in the scuba divers, and we send them into the river and monitor them with the help of the Coast Guard,” said a navy official, on the condition of anonymity.
Search and rescue operations are being carried out from the second bridge, which has remained intact.
According to local residents, the bridge had been shut for almost two years and was reopened two years ago. “We don’t know why the bridge was shut for such a long time or why it was reopened in late 2014. We assumed it was safer,” said Rajiv Gaikwad, who lives in Madh and works for a local firm.
According to Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) officials, the buses were Jaigad-Mumbai and Rajapur-Borivali. They had a total of 22 people on board out of which 17 were registered ticket-buyers.
At least two people are assumed to be in the private vehicle that was seen falling into the river after the buses, which is rumoured to be a Tavera. This does not take into account the passengers who might have hitched a ride mid-way. Officials said that there is absolutely no way to know how many people have died exactly. “This is the off season for ST buses so the frequency is one bus every 5 minutes. No one knows exactly how the bridge collapsed or if it was actually the first bus that the eyewitness saw,” said Ms Sonawale.
Maharashtra governor C. Vidyasagar Rao has expressed grief over the loss of life caused by the collapse. “My heart goes out to the persons who were on board the two buses and other vehicles that have gone missing in the Savitri River in Mahad. I offer my condolences to the kin of those who lost their lives and pray for the rescue of those who are missing,” he said in a message.
