Search and rescue operations in Mahad — where a British-era bridge collapsed on Wednesday — reached a standstill for most of Friday due to heavy rainfall and strong currents in the Savitri River. Scuba divers, taking the help of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel, plunged into the river, but were still unsuccessful in locating the two buses and a Tavera car that are suspected to have submerged. The number of dead bodies recovered has now gone up to 21, of which 17 have been identified and the remaining bodies have decomposed beyond recognition.
According to Navy officials and Coast Guard personnel, they have shifted the search operation to 20 km downstream from the river, where it meets the Arabian Sea. “We have lowered a magnet into the river, but there is almost no hope left that any of the buses are still in it. Even though we would keep searching for the vehicles, our efforts are now more aimed at finding the bodies,” said an NDRF personnel.
The 160 NDRF men pressed into action have been trying to find signs of life within the 20 km area downstream from the river where search operations are being carried out. But the bodies found starting from early on Thursday night through to Friday morning have been at locations like Hari Hareshwar and Ambedh, which are a good 80 km to 40 km downstream respectively.
Authorities at the Mahad zilla parishad have revealed a list of 42 names of people who were travelling in the buses and the Tavera. With the body count increasing, the small mortuary at Mahad civil hospital, located about one km away from the site of the accident, seemed to be overflowing with doctors and the local police, who are working in tandem to identify the bodies as quickly as possible.
“The challenge now is to identify the bodies and transport them to the respective families quickly since more space will be needed as more bodies trickle in,” said medical administrator Dr Vishnu Jagtap.
