Navy divers looking for wreckage at Mahad a week after bridge collapse
Navy divers, challenged by crocodiles and strong currents, have found the wreckage of buses that fell into a river after a century-old bridge collapsed on the Mumbai-Goa highway over a week ago.
"After working 12-14 hours a day for the last eight days, the naval teams have located wreckage of the two buses submerged in water at Mahad," said a defence spokesperson on Thursday.
The divers, according to the Navy, searched relentlessly "despite the presence of crocodiles, high current, tough conditions in the river."
The buses had fallen into the swollen Savitri river with 22 people when the British-built bridge collapsed on August 2, weakened by incessant rain. The remains have been found around 200 metres from the site where the bridge collapsed.
Some cars are also believed to have fallen into the river.
Navy and Coast Guard teams have scanned the waters along the 130 km length of the river.
Divers have found 28 bodies and 16 people are missing.
"The (disaster) teams are being informed and crane for recovery of the wreckage is being requested," the spokesperson said.
The bridge was to be dismantled this December as part of a highway expansion project, said the Maharashtra government yesterday. Maharashtra was accused of ignoring a warning from UK that the bridge is too old and dangerous.
State minister Chandrakant Patil says there are about 2,300 bridges in the state and around 100 were built either in the British era or even further back, in the 17th century.