In a tragic incident, at least fifty people swept away after a footbridge collapsed in south Goa's Curchorem on Thursday. So far, at least 15 people have been rescued and five of them have been admitted to a hospital after the Portuguese era footbridge mishap.
The incident took place when the police were attempting to rescue a youth who jumped off the bridge. According to latest input, body of one person has been recovered by the rescue team.
The number of casualties is still unclear. A major rescue operation is currently underway and the police and the fire brigade are currently at spot.
An eye-witness and police in the village claimed that the dilapidated bridge could not take the weight of the people who had gathered there after reports that a woman had committed suicide at the site. "A metallic old bridge on the river has collapsed where about 40 persons had gathered," Shekhar Prabhudesai, superintendent of police in South Goa, who is heading the rescue operations, told Reuters over phone.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar over the incident.
"Spoke to Goa CM Shri @manoharparrikar regarding the bridge collapse on Sanvordem River. Search and rescue ops have been intensified," Rajnath Singh tweeted.
The Indian Navy too tweeted "9 Navy Divers with Geminis boats & associated equipment rush to Curchorem, South Goa bridge collapse site for Search & Rescue operation."
"The number of casualties is still not known," he said.
Fifteen people have been admitted to hospital, said one policeman, while rescue teams are working at the site.
According to another report, dozens of passengers are said to have been drowned in the river.The police said around 20 of them swam to safety. Another 14 people were rescued and taken to nearby hospitals, whereas two bodies were retrieved from the river. "More people are feared to have been trapped under the collapsed ..
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A woman’s suicide bid took an unexpected turn when a Portuguese-era bridge, on which onlookers had gathered, collapsed under the weight of the crowd at Sanvordem in South Goa on Thursday. At least one person died and 12 were injured as the crowd fell into the Sanvordem river, police said. The incident took place around 6.40 pm at Curchorem constituency, 45 km from Panaji. According to officials, at least 50 people were standing on the old bridge after they spotted a woman trying to commit suicide by jumping into the water. The bridge, fire officials said, could not take their weight and
According to officials, at least 50 people were standing on the old bridge after they spotted a woman trying to commit suicide by jumping into the water. The bridge, fire officials said, could not take their weight and collapsed. Goa DGP Muktesh Chander confirmed the incident.
South Goa MP Narendra Savaikar said, “The old bridge was shut as it was weak. A rescue operation was under way for a woman who had jumped from the parallel bridge. The crowd gathered on the weaker bridge and did not estimate its ability. Rescue operations are under way.”
Naval drivers have been pressed into service. Precautions are being taken for the safety of the divers as the area is known to have crocodiles. Chetak helicopters are also being used to conduct aerial search.
About 30 people are believed to have swum ashore. The only body to be retrieved was of Basavaraj Malanavar (30), which was found clinging to the steel frame of the collapsed bridge. At least 12 other people, officers said, “were in shock” and suffered injuries and were rushed to hospital. Locals added that two others might be missing.
2 August 2016: A bridge in Savitri river on Mumbai-Goa Highway near Mahad in Raigad district collapsed killing at least 26. An Indian Navy team was deployed to look for survivors. Two state transport buses and some other vehicles had fallen in the swollen river following the bridge collapse.
30 March 2016: At least 17 people were reportedly killed when Vivekananda flyover collapsed on the busy Rabindra Sarani-KK Tagore street in Kolkata. A senior official of the company which had the contract for the construction of the bridge described the incident as an "act of god".
12 February 2015: A portion of the Wazirabad-Janakpuri elevated corridor in New Delhi collapsed onto the road below, damaging three parked cars and injuring two people seriously, The Times of India reported. Initial investigations claimed that the accident occurred due to the snapping of the straps which held a concrete block.
3 February 2014: A portion of an old foot-over-bridge collapsed on a running express train in Bihar, causing the derailment of the train. However, there were no casualties reported. The incident took place near the Samastipur railway station when the Amrapali Express was passing under the bridge. Three coaches of the train derailed and were slightly damaged, disrupting train services along the route.
November 2013: Nearly a dozen people were injured when a portion of an old road overbridge collapsed on a goods train in Muzaffarpur district.
7 February 2013: An under-construction bridge collapsed near Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, killing three labourers. Larsen & Toubro, the company who was responsible for the project, called the incident an "accident" since it took place despite adequate safety measures being in place. Seven others were also injured in the accident. The Mumbai police arrested three people and registered a case of negligence against Larsen & Toubro.
11 August 2012: At least 18 people, including four policemen, were injured as a wooden footbridge over a stream collapsed in Srinagar. Police said a group of people had blocked the road at Ashai Bagh area on the city outskirts, demanding improvement of the roads in their locality adjacent to the main road. When a group of locals, accompanied by the magistrate and a station house officer (SHO), were crossing a wooden footbridge between Bhat Mohalla and Ashraf Mohalla, the bridge collapsed sending 13 civilians, the official and four policemen into the stream. All the persons were safely rescued.
9 July 2012: A government official was killed and 16 people were injured when a bridge under construction collapsed in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district. The incident occurred in Komalsigre area near Williamnagar, the district headquarters of East Garo Hills. The bridge was to provide connectivity to some villages in the region. An overseer of Meghalaya Public Work Department died on the spot.
