Mumbai Bridge Collapse: Piyush Goyal thanks motor man for averting major disaster

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said that he will reward motorman Chandrashekhar Sawant, who averted a bigger tragedy by stopping the train as soon as he saw an overhead electric line snap, when a part of a bridge collapsed in Mumbai's Andheri station.

Sawant would be awarded Rs 5 Lakhs by the Railway Minister.

Goyal said, "I would like to thank motorman Chandrashekhar Sawant who stopped the train as soon he saw an over head electric line snap and averted a bigger mishap. He will be awarded Rs 5 lakh."

As soon as Sawant saw the foot overbridge collapse, he applied the brakes and saved a much bigger mishap and loss of lives.

The train stopped just metres away from the collapsed bridge which had ripped apart the overhead wires left on the tracks.

The Gokhale Bridge, which collapsed, connected Andheri East and Andheri West. It collapsed on the tracks near Andheri Station, affecting the transport services at worse.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, taking stock of the situation, spoke to the Mumbai Commissioner of Police Subodh Jaiswal and asked him to ensure smooth traffic movement.

Meanwhile, Fadnavis also asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner to increase the frequency of BEST buses for the convenience of commuters.