Inclement weather continued to hamper the search operations on Friday in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, where rescue teams managed to retrieve seven more bodies, taking the tally in the Mahad Bridge collapse tragedy to 21. There were unconfirmed reports late in the evening that yet another body was recovered from Vadavali village, six kilometres away. On the third day, 160 jawans from four teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), aided by local fishermen, braved relentless rain and rising river waters in a desperate search for missing persons.
Fourteen bodies were fished out from the waters on Thursday, four of them late in the evening. Seven more were recovered on Friday before the swirling currents of the River Savitri brought operations to a halt.
“The majority of the bodies recovered today were from nearby villages of Kemburli and Varathi, 10 km from site of the bridge collapse. Others were discovered floating in the waters near Ambet village,” Anupam Srivastava, Commandant, NDRF, 5th Battalion, told The Hindu .
‘River has risen’Mr. Srivastava said the level of the Savitri River had risen by six feet. “We have spread our search dragnet up to 30 km from the spot where the bridge stood considering the strong currents,” he said.
Meanwhile, a case has been lodged against Raigad Guardian Minister Prakash Mehta by the editor of a regional television channel at the Mahad MIDC police station. The leader had got into a scuffle with journalists on Thursday after they asked him some uncomfortable questions about the Mahad tragedy. The Minister had allegedly responded with threats and warnings. He was also caught on camera apparently inciting party workers to beat up journalists.
