Mahad tragedy: Divers locate another vehicle with bodies trapped inside

Divers from the navy located on Sunday another wreckage assessed to be part of an SUV, which got caught in the Mahad bridge collapse on Mumbai-Goa highway.

Divers from the navy located on Sunday another wreckage assessed to be part of an SUV, which got caught in the Mahad bridge collapse on Mumbai-Goa highway.

Divers from the NDRF, Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard look for wreckage of vehicles swept away in the Savitri river after the Mahad bridged collapsed. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Rahul Sinha, CPRO (defence), said the wreckage of Tevera SUV bearing registration number MH04 GD 7837 was recovered from the Savitri river.

“There is a likelihood of two bodies inside the vehicle,” Sinha added.

The wreckage was found 300 metre away from the damaged bridge in Mahad.

Navy officials said that they have informed the administrative and NDRF officials about their findings.

The Indian Navy team, comprising of personnel specialising in diving, and NDRF personnel have been searching in the river for the wreckage and survivors since the incident occurred on August 4.

The effort was in response to a request received from the state government on undertaking search along the river for survivors and bodies, said a navy official.

A Maharashtra government official said 42 people are missing. Since the operations began, 26 bodies have been retrieved.The search teams have not ruled out the possibility of other bodies being trapped in the submerged vehicles.