The Pune district has been experiencing rainfall for the past couple of days.
Credit: Special arrangement
Mumbai: At least four persons were killed and 51 others were rescued after an old and dilapidated iron-concrete pedestrian bridge over the Indrayani River in the Maval tehsil of Pune district crumbled because of heavy crowd of tourists and revellers on Sunday.
The death toll could go up as the fate of several others remains unknown.
Some persons are feared to be trapped in the debris of the ill-fated bridge while some have been swept away because of the currents resulting from the heavy rainfall in the Pune-Raigad belt of Sahyadri Ranges.
The Search and Rescue (S&R) were underway under search-lights even as intermittent rainfall was posing difficulty in the operation.
Six of those who are admitted are in a critical condition.
The 73-year-old Kundamala bridge - over a rocky patch - off the Indori village, collapsed because of a massive crowd of people who had gathered there to enjoy the monsoon, clicking photos and selfies.
The bridge is meant for pedestrians, however, it is often used by two-wheelers despite warnings by the local administration.
The incident took place around 1530 hrs, reports reaching Mumbai said.
There were 50 to 80 persons over the bridge, eye-witnesses said while some accounts claimed that more than 100 persons were there.
The Maharashtra government has ordered a probe into the incident and immediate structural audit of old bridges as a fallout of the incident.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed two deaths and announced an ex-gratia of Rs five lakh to the next of kin of the deceased while the State government will bear the medical expenses of those injured.
Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde, who is also also the guardian minister of Pune, spoke to Pune Divisional Commissioner Dr Chandrakant Pulkundwar, Pune Collector Jitendra Dudi and Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissioner Vinoy Kumar Choubey to review the situation.
Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan rushed to the spot to oversee the S&R operation. “Two persons have died while 38 has been rescued,” he said, adding that more than 100 to 200 people were there on the bridge at the time of the incident. “There was a warning that it is a pedestrian bridge but still people use two-wheelers. There was massive crowding over the bridge, because of which it collapsed,” he said.
According to him, those injured have suffered fractures.
"After the rescue teams reached, two bodies were retrieved, while late in the evening two more bodies were recovered while another seems to have been noticed by rescuers," he said.
Teams of National Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Pune Police and Revenue teams were involved in the operations. “Whether it is the Revenue departments and Pune police and NDRF they reached immediately and hence many lives could be saved,” Dudi told reporters.
“Locals were the first to reach the disaster site and start rescuing people,” said Raghuveer Shelar, a local resident. “It just caved in suddenly. It was like a bolt from the blue,” said Ganesh Pawar, an eye-witness. A few two-tellers could also be seen on the bridge. "The vehicles and people fell down...there was chaos," he said, adding that he too rescued people. "I got up from the hanging part of the bridge," he said.
A crane has been brought to lift the broken part of the bridge.
Besides, gas-cutters are being used to cut the iron structure to rescue people who were trapped in the debris.
Videos on social media platforms show that three to four persons were drifting away in the water.
Over the past two days, the Pune region has been experiencing good rainfall.
Intermittent rains are hindering the S&R operations.
Baramati MP Supriya Sule, Maval MLA Sunil Shelke and Karjat-Jamkhed MLA Rohit Pawar, are at the spot.
Rafts have been brought to carry out the rescue operations.
The victims include women and children.
Heart-rending scenes were witnessed as anxious relatives rushed to the spot to look for their near and dear ones.
People often ignore warnings: Girish Mahajan
In the wake of the Maval bridge collapse, Maharashtra's Disaster Management Minister Girish Mahajan said that the public at large often ignores warnings issued by the government, district and police administration. "Such disasters take place in monsoon season. Notices are issued in advance requesting people not to go to such places...but they still go. This was an old bridge. It was meant for pedestrians. Despite the notice people were using two-wheelers. Ignoring safety, people crowded the place and the bridge caved in," he said, adding that last year too a family got trapped during heavy downpour.
PM, HM speaks to Fadnavis
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Cyprus, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Fadnavis to review the situation. “NDRF teams posted nearby quickly rushed to the site, joined the rescue operation, and saved several lives with remarkable promptness,” said Shah. The PM and HM assured Centre's help in the S&R operations.
Crucial to seek accountability: Kharge
Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said even as we mourn the profound loss, it's crucial to seek accountability. "Such preventable disasters demand meaningful questions to be asked to those in power," he said, adding that those responsible must be held to account under full force of law.