After an 8-days long search, the wreckage of two buses which submerged in the Mahad bridge collapse were found submerged under water on Thursday, confirmed Defence PRO.
“The two wreckage seem to be parts of buses and were found approximately 170 and 200 meters from the collapsed bridge,” said Defence PRO as quoted by ANI news.
Two state-run buses and several vehicles were swept away when a British-era bridge over the Savitri river in Mahad collapsed in which 26 bodies were recovered and 16 are still missing and feared dead in the tragedy that took place on August 2. The Navy team has been searching for the wreckage and survivors since the morning of August 4.
Mumbai-Goa highway bridge collapses, 2 buses carrying 18 people missing
Families of those declared dead in the episode are eligible for a compensation of at least Rs 10 lakh. With almost no chance of finding a survivor in the incident, the government is hoping that reducing the time period before declaring a person dead in absentia will help resolve some of the problems that their relatives might face.
Ill-fated Mahad bridge was to be brought in December 2015
The government has also decided to conduct biannual audits of bridges in the state to avoid similar tragedies in future. “There are 2,300 bridges in the state. Of this, some 100-odd were built during the pre-Independence era,” said Patil. He added that it had been decided to conduct an engineering workshop for evolving fresh guidelines for road and bridge inspection work.
Earlier on Wednesday, a public interest litigation had been filed before the Bombay High Court, seeking punitive action against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state government officials who conducted the structural audit of the British era bridge near Mahad in Raigad district.
“The two wreckage seem to be parts of buses and were found approximately 170 and 200 meters from the collapsed bridge,” said Defence PRO as quoted by ANI news.
Two state-run buses and several vehicles were swept away when a British-era bridge over the Savitri river in Mahad collapsed in which 26 bodies were recovered and 16 are still missing and feared dead in the tragedy that took place on August 2. The Navy team has been searching for the wreckage and survivors since the morning of August 4.
Mumbai-Goa highway bridge collapses, 2 buses carrying 18 people missing
Families of those declared dead in the episode are eligible for a compensation of at least Rs 10 lakh. With almost no chance of finding a survivor in the incident, the government is hoping that reducing the time period before declaring a person dead in absentia will help resolve some of the problems that their relatives might face.
Ill-fated Mahad bridge was to be brought in December 2015
The government has also decided to conduct biannual audits of bridges in the state to avoid similar tragedies in future. “There are 2,300 bridges in the state. Of this, some 100-odd were built during the pre-Independence era,” said Patil. He added that it had been decided to conduct an engineering workshop for evolving fresh guidelines for road and bridge inspection work.
Earlier on Wednesday, a public interest litigation had been filed before the Bombay High Court, seeking punitive action against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state government officials who conducted the structural audit of the British era bridge near Mahad in Raigad district.