Mumbai, Jul 3 (PTI) An over-bridge at a railway station in Mumbai’s Andheri suburb collapsed on Tuesday during heavy rains, disrupting train services, injuring five people and putting the spotlight once again on the creaky infrastructure of this metropolis
A major disaster was also averted as a packed train that was to pass Andheri station stopped a few metres from the collapsed bridge, thanks to motor man Chandrashekhar B Sawant’s quick action in stopping the train when he saw a portion of the bridge collapsing
“I immediately applied emergency brakes and the train stopped,” Sawant told reporters. “The collapse was accompanied by a big thud sound of debris falling”, he said
The Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said five people were injured, including two seriously
A part of the 47-year-old Gokhale over-bridge came down at 7.30 a.m. IST, before the commuter rush hour had started, which was the likely reason the casualty figure remained low. Normally, thousands of commuters use the bridge, which connects Andheri East and Andheri West stations
The falling bridge entangled with overhead wires which fell on the tracks below, halting local train services on the Western line, officials said, causing immense inconvenience to Mumbaikars for whom local trains are a lifeline. Some long distance trains were also cancelled or rescheduled
Only nine months ago, in September, a foot over-bridge linking Elphinstone Road and Parel suburban railway stations had collapsed, leading to a stampede in which 22 people were killed and several injured
“Incessant rains apparently caused cracks in the (bridge), resulting in its collapse. Thankfully, no train was passing on the track under the bridge at that time,” said a civic official
Mumbai’s famous tiffin carriers, the ‘Dabbawalas’, who use local trains to ferry hundreds of thousands of lunch boxes from homes, were also unable to deliver on Tuesday as pounding rain lashed the city, clogging several roads with shin-high water
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal visited the accident site and ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of Rail Safety whose report would have to be submitted within 15 days
