New Delhi: An old footbridge over the Indrayani River in near Talegaon in Maharashtra’s Pune district came crashing down on Sunday afternoon. Over 100 people plunged into the water below. Till now, four people have been reported dead in the incident and 51 left injured.
Those walking across the narrow footbridge now recount what they saw: the terrifying sight of the bridge coming down and people being swept away.
Swapnil Kollam saw the incident happening in front of his eyes. He said over 150-200 people were there on the bridge. “But at the place where the bridge collapsed, there were more than 50 people. It is God’s grace that my family is safe,” he said.
Nikhil Kollam, another eyewitness who stood shaking on the riverbank, dubbed the collapse as a moment of divine intervention. “It is Lord Ram’s grace that we are safe. Today is the rebirth of me and my family,” he said.
What happened
The narrow bridge, reportedly carrying between 150 and 200 people at the time, came down around 3:15 pm. There was total chaos after part of the packed bridge gave way, sending people plunging into the river below.
District Collector Jitendra Dudi was quoted as saying by ANI: “A total of 51 people are injured and admitted to different hospitals, taking treatment, and four individuals have died. Three were identified as Chandrakant Salve, Rohit Mane, and Vihaan Mane, and one was male but unidentified.”
Search operations are on for the missing. Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lamented the bridge collapse and said it was a deeply distressing and avoidable tragedy. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi dubbed the incident as extremely saddening.
