‘Have been calling helplines for 13 hours’

MUMBAI: The past 24 hours have been full of stress and anxiety for Sunil Balekar, 38, a resident of Vile Parle, who is awaiting news on his family – his sisters

MUMBAI: The past 24 hours have been full of stress and anxiety for Sunil Balekar, 38, a resident of Vile Parle, who is awaiting news on his family – his sisters Snehal Bahikar, 30, and Dipali Balekar, Snehal’s husband Sunil and their nephew Anish. “We last heard from them on Tuesday evening.

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“My father died 13 days ago. My sisters called me before taking the ST bus from Chiplun,” said Balekar. “We then heard about the bridge collapse. We have been making frantic calls for the past 12-13 hours.”

Sunil and Snehal are residents of Girgaum, while Dipali stayed at Vakola, Santacruz. Sunil said Anish came to Mumbai a year ago and is a student at municipal school at Prabhat Colony.

“We are a family of 15 living in different parts of Mumbai. Everyone has come to Vile Parle. Every time the phone rings, the whole house goes silent. I rush to answer the phone, only hear the same questions from friends,” said Sunil, adding he had returned from his village 10 days ago.