Foot over-bridge collapses in Mumbai, 6 injured

Six people have been injured in a foot over-bridge collapse at Andheri suburban station in Mumbai, on Tuesday morning.

The Western Railway services and the Harbour line service of the Central Railway have been thrown out of gear.

As of now, only curtailed services in some sections are being run. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) comprising Mumbai and parts of the neighbouring districts of Palghar, Thane and Raigad had been experiencing incessant rainfall since Monday.

So far, no casualties have been reported. However, the possibility of some people being trapped has not been ruled out.

Officials and rescue teams of Western Railway, BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai Police, Railway Protection Force and Government Railway Police, and the Mumbai Fire Brigade have reached the spot.

The NDRF teams have also reached the spot. “There is total chaos and people are stranded at various stations,” said Shaibal Gupta, a Vasai resident, who preferred to return from the station.

"People are stranded at railway stations," added Vinayak Dhamane, a daily commuter. "People are not able to reach their offices," he said. “We have started work to normalise the services. We are making regular announcements,” said Western Railway’s Chief Public Relations Officer Ravindra Bakhar.

“There should be a regular audit of the bridges and foot over- bridges,” said veteran RTI activist Anil Galgali. While part of the Ghokale Bridge that connects Andheri East to Andheri West caved in, it also brought down the overhead wires.

Authorities say that it may take the entire day for the services to be normalised. “Part of Gokhale Bridge, connecting Andheri East to West, has collapsed affecting the overhead wires too. Trains on the western line are affected.BMC, Fire Brigade as well as RPF Staff & Officers are deputed on spot for support. Traffic above & below the bridge has been stopped for now,” the Mumbai Police tweeted.

No trains are running between Goregaon and Bandra section of Western Railway. Some mail and express trains have been cancelled and rescheduled. Therefore special arrangements for refund are being made at various stations. However, as a special case, Western Railway commuters are permitted to travel on alternative routes of Central Railway.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday has ordered a probe into the incident. "The Commissioner for Railway Safety will probe the incident," the minister tweeted.