After battling for life for nearly four weeks, Andheri bridge collapse victim Manoj Mehta succumbed to injuries at Nanavati Hospital on Sunday evening.
The 52-year-old chartered accountant was severely injured when the debris of the bridge fell on him while he awaited a Dahanu-bound train on Platform No.8. Mehta is the second victim of the bridge collapse that took place on July 3. Earlier, 35-year-old Asmita Katkar, the mother of a six-year-old boy, died four days after the incident at the civic-run Cooper Hospital.
Mehta, a resident of Juhu, was stuck under the debris for nearly an hour. He had suffered from severe injures to his spine, abdomen and chest. Doctors said he had lost sensation in his lower limbs. “He passed away at 7.30 p.m,” said Rajesh Mehta, the brother of the victim. He said that Mehta had been kept in isolation for the several weeks as he had contracted an infection.
Doctors from Nanavati Hospital said that Mehta died due to multiple organ failure. He had been on ventilator support since the day of admission and had to undergo two surgeries in the hospital. He also required renal support as his kidneys were not functioning well.
Rajesh said, “He was able to recognise all family members. He was also talking to us. But in the last three days, his condition had worsened and he was under sedation.”
The Andheri bridge collapse triggered a series of audits of all old bridges in the city. A team of experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Western Railway, Central Railway and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation was appointed to conduct regular audits of more than 400 foot overbridges and skywalks in the city. Following one such audit, the Delisle road bridge in Lower Parel was shut down.
