Maharashtra: Girder of under-construction overbridge collapses in Chiplun city; none hurt

Representational Pic/File

A girder of an overbridge being constructed on a section of the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed on Monday after reportedly developing cracks in Chiplun city in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district, police said, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, nobody was injured in the incident as the area was already cordoned off.

The girder developed cracks when it was being placed at the elevated position in the morning hours, following which the surrounding area was cordoned off and police personnel were deployed at the spot, the official said, as per the PTI.

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At around 2:45 pm, the girder crumbled and fell around 30 metres down, he said.

The work to remove debris on the highway section has not yet begun as traffic was operational, he said.

Meanwhile, in an another incident, at least 12 people were killed and 23 others injured in the accident on Samruddhi Expressway on Sunday, the police said.

As many as 35 passengers were travelling by the private bus. They were returning to Nashik after visiting the Sailani Baba dargah in Buldhana district, an official said.

President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a post on X said an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased and the injured persons would be given Rs 50,000.

The accident took place shortly after midnight on Sunday in Vaijapur area of the expressway, located nearly 80 km from the district headquarters and 350 km from state capital Mumbai, as per officials.

The bus driver lost control over the wheels. As a result, the bus hit the stationary container truck from the rear side near Jambargaon toll plaza, police officials said.

Prima facie, the mini-bus was overloaded. It had the capacity to carry 17 people, but nearly 35 passengers were travelling on it, an official from Vaijapur police station told PTI.

"The accident took place on the first lane from the crash barrier side where the vehicles are supposed to move at a speed of 80 km per hour. The mini-bus collided with the truck on the first lane from the road shoulder. We had to cut a part of the mini-bus from the driver's side to bring people out of the vehicle," an official from the expressway control room said, according to the PTI.

(with PTI inputs)