Traffic police ask MSRDC to put SOPs in place

Raj Tilak Roushan, deputy commissioner of police (traffic – headquarters and Central region) said, “After studying the incident, we figured that a system needs to be implemented in case a vehicle breaks down or there is an accident on the Sea Link, and therefore we have written to MSRDC to implement it urgently

Mumbai: Two days after five persons lost their lives and eight others were injured in an early morning accident on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL), the Mumbai traffic police on Friday sent a set of instructions to the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) about protocols to be followed, in case of a vehicle break-down or an accident on the Sea Link.

Mumbai, India - October 05, 2022: At Least 5 people were killed and 8 others injured after collision of four cars and an ambulance on the Bandra-Worli Sealink, in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, October 05, 2022. (Photo by Vijay Bate/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

The directive from the traffic police department came after officials studied the sequence of events of the October 5 accident and noticed that the fatality could have been reduced if an SOP was in place.

According to the sequence of events, at 2.35 am, a Maruti Suzuki Swift ferrying four youths, crashed into the barricade on the south-bound side of the BWSL after the front tyre of their vehicle burst. The four occupants emerged from the car, unhurt. Seeing them stranded on the side of the road at that hour however, another motorist, Neil Vora, who was driving a Maruti Suzuki Baleno, parked his car a little ahead of to help them fix their tyre.

The BWSL staff noticed the parked vehicles and dispatched an ambulance and a tow away vehicle parked at the MSRDC office on the Bandra end of the Sea Link, assuming that an accident had taken place. Later, doctors Dr Ankush Tinha (37) and Dr Ashwini Nair (28), both officers of the Indian Navy, spotted the ambulance and stopped their Mercedes just ahead of the Swift, assuming that medical help was needed. A little later, a speeding Hyundai Creta rammed into the stationary vehicles, killing five.

Raj Tilak Roushan, deputy commissioner of police (traffic – headquarters and Central region) said, “After studying the incident, we figured that a system needs to be implemented in case a vehicle breaks down or there is an accident on the Sea Link, and therefore we have written to MSRDC to implement it urgently.”

He added that they would also send a proposal to the concerned authorities about installing one more speed detecting camera on the Sea Link. At present MSRDC has 10 ANPR cameras for number recognition at the toll plaza and one each at entry and exit point.