SUV wreckage pulled out with two bodies
Twelve days after a decades-old bridge collapsed in Mahad, naval divers recovered wreckage of one of the missing cars with two bodies trapped inside on Sunday, taking the death toll to 28.
The SUV – a Chevrolet Tavera with the numberplate MH04 GD 7837 – was pulled out of the Savitri river, about 400 metres away from the accident site.
The bridge on the Savitri river had collapsed on the night of August 2, after which two MSRTC buses and the SUV had drowned in the river. Forty-one people were missing after the accident, out of which 28 bodies have now been recovered.
The two bodies have been sent to the Mahad government hospital and they are yet to be identified due to their decomposed state.” The place from where the SUV was recovered was five meters deep and the recovery was possible as the current was not as swift as earlier.
On Saturday, Naval divers recovered a Rajapur-Borivali MSRTC bus from 170 meters way from the accident spot. The recovery operation was difficult as the current was very swift and the wreckage was at the depth of around eight meters on the river bed. The anchor used to pull out the wreckage broke off twice but the bus was pulled out by the evening.
Thirteen people still remain missing and agencies involved in the search and rescue suspect that many bodies could be still be trapped inside the vehicles that went missing. Officials also suspect that some bodies could have been dragged out into the marshes that are infested by crocodiles, while many could have also been swept away towards the sea, located only 90 kilometres from the accident spot.
The SUV – a Chevrolet Tavera with the numberplate MH04 GD 7837 – was pulled out of the Savitri river, about 400 metres away from the accident site.
The bridge on the Savitri river had collapsed on the night of August 2, after which two MSRTC buses and the SUV had drowned in the river. Forty-one people were missing after the accident, out of which 28 bodies have now been recovered.
Naval divers from INS Abhimanyu spotted the wreckage, which prompted the commencement of an operation to pull it out at 10am on Sunday. An NDRF team helped the Naval officials to retrieve the wreckage of the vehicle using telescopic anchors, with assistance from the local district administration. A senior Naval officer said, “The recovery operations were assisted by NDRF officials, district administration officials and by afternoon, the wreckage had been pulled out.
The two bodies have been sent to the Mahad government hospital and they are yet to be identified due to their decomposed state.” The place from where the SUV was recovered was five meters deep and the recovery was possible as the current was not as swift as earlier.
On Saturday, Naval divers recovered a Rajapur-Borivali MSRTC bus from 170 meters way from the accident spot. The recovery operation was difficult as the current was very swift and the wreckage was at the depth of around eight meters on the river bed. The anchor used to pull out the wreckage broke off twice but the bus was pulled out by the evening.
Thirteen people still remain missing and agencies involved in the search and rescue suspect that many bodies could be still be trapped inside the vehicles that went missing. Officials also suspect that some bodies could have been dragged out into the marshes that are infested by crocodiles, while many could have also been swept away towards the sea, located only 90 kilometres from the accident spot.
