A 37-year-old driver from Tamil Nadu was rescued even as the truck he was driving was swept away following the collapse of a bridge across the Kali River at Karwar in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district around 2 am on Wednesday.
Balu Murugan, the driver, managed to break the windshield of the truck, which was en route to Karnataka’s Hubballi from Goa. He climbed onto the vehicle and caught the attention of a patrolling police officer. Murugan was rescued and rushed to a Karwar hospital.
Uttara Kannada deputy commissioner Krishna Priya said Murugan was in a stable condition and will be sent home once he is fit to travel. She added the Kali River remained swollen after heavy rains since last week. Priya said the district administration was prepared to address potential flooding.
Uttara Kannada Police superintendent Narayan M said a section of the bridge, which connected Karnataka with Goa, fell along with the truck. He added the remaining two sections collapsed within the next 10 minutes.
Police and expert swimmers were investigating whether more vehicles might have fallen before the truck from Tamil Nadu went down.
{{/usCountry}}Police and expert swimmers were investigating whether more vehicles might have fallen before the truck from Tamil Nadu went down.
{{/usCountry}}Narayan M said traffic on another bridge over the Kali River to Goa was halted on Wednesday morning. “There is no significant traffic issue as there are alternative routes to Goa,” he said.
Police have been deployed to monitor traffic on all bridges in the area to prevent congestion. “Traffic on the bridges is being controlled by restricting the number of vehicles allowed at one time,” said Narayan M.