Team News Riveting
Pune, June 15
Two persons died and several may have been swept away after an iron bridge over Indrayani river collapsed on Sunday afternoon in Pune’s Maval tehsil.
The incident took place in Kundamala area, which has been witnessing heavy rains over the past few days that gave the river a steady flow. The bridge collapse in Pune rural’s Maval area comes even as an orange alert remains in place for Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad, with heavy to very heavy rains expected in the ghat regions. It was not raining when the bridge collapsed, a police official said.
“As per preliminary information, two persons have died in the collapse, while some are feared swept away. Five to six persons have been rescued as per initial information and have been sent to hospital for checkups,” the official added.
Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and personnel from other specialised units, including the fire brigade, are at the spot, which was crowded due to it being a Sunday. The area is heavily patronised by picnickers.
Police and disaster relief workers, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), reached the spot and rescue work has been started. “As some people have been swept away, a search is being carried out on a war footing. NDRF has been deployed at the spot. The relief work has been immediately accelerated,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis wrote in a post in Marathi.
Residents had reportedly raised concerns about the structural safety of the bridge, which was renovated 4-5 years ago, but many tourists were unaware of the potential danger.
