42 people may have been washed away in Mahad bridge collapse

As many as 42 people might have been washed way in the Mahad bridge collapse on Tuesday night, complaints received by the control room suggested.

As many as 42 people might have been washed way in the Mahad bridge collapse on Tuesday night, complaints received by the control room suggested.

People watch rescue operations after an old bridge connecting the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed on Tuesday night near Mahad. (Satish Bate/ HT Photo)

The Raigad deputy collector Satish Vagal told HT that the number was based on information provided by friends and relatives of people who were known to be travelling on the Mumbai-Goa highway around then, but hadn’t reached their destinations.

“Till the last count by Thursday noon, we received information on 42 missing persons,” Vagal said, adding that the figure also included passengers of two state transport buses that fell into the Savitri river. The Rajapur-Borivali bus was reportedly carrying 14 people while the Jaigad-Mumbai bus was carrying 12. Eight people in a Chevrolet Tavera were also said to be missing.

Indian Navy personnel search the flooded River Savitri. (PTI Photo)

Besides this, Vagal said a Mumbai resident called on Thursday morning to report that a Honda City car with four people might have been swept away. “He said he had not received any information about any of the occupants since Tuesday night. We took his complaint, though he failed to provide us the vehicle’s registration number,” he added.

The control room also received complaints that four people travelling on two or three-wheelers were missing.

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