Pune bridge collapse: 4 dead, 51 injured as old structure fails under rush

The incident occurred at 3:15 pm; we were informed by 3:30 pm. A 250-member team began rescue ops and has rescued around 38 people so far, said District Collector Jitendra Dudi

Four people died and 51 were injured when an old narrow bridge over the River Indrayani near Talegaon in Maharashtra's Pune district collapsed on Sunday afternoon.

The deceased are Chandrakant Salve, Rohit Mane, and Vihaan Mane, while the fourth remains unidentified.

While speaking to ANI, District Collector Jitendra Dudi said, "A total of 51 people are injured and admitted to different hospitals, taking treatment, and four individuals have died. Three were identified as Chandrakant Salve, Rohit Mane, and Vihaan Mane, and one was male but unidentified..."

"The incident happened at 3:15 pm and we got the information at 3:30 pm... A team of about 250 people immediately came here. The rescue operation started, and so far we have rescued about 38 people," he added.

Dudi confirmed that search operations were ongoing. "We asked people to tell us if their relatives are unknown, and two such people are unknown. The search operation is going on... This operation will continue till we identify and rescue all the people," he told ANI.

He also acknowledged prior warnings about the danger, saying, "We had issued advisories and warnings to all the places that are dangerous for tourists, and this was one such place, but unfortunately, the number of tourists increased a lot... Going forward, we will form a team and investigate the incident, and if the administration is found guilty, I will ensure that action is taken against them as well."

On the medical front, seven patients were admitted to the ICU of Atharva Hospital. "According to the doctors, six patients are out of danger, but one, who was found late, is in a critical condition but is stable as of now," Dudi said.

Maharashtra Minister of Relief and Rehabilitation Makarand Patil and District Collector Jitendra Dudi visited the Civil Hospital to meet the people injured and critically ill after the collapse.

Reacting to the tragedy, NCP-SCP MLA Rohit Pawar said, "The incident is very unfortunate... When the incident happened, young locals saved around 20-25 people; NDRF and police also saved people. The bridge was quite old, and there used to be discussions about its renovation, but unfortunately, it could not be done."

"There are many such bridges that are old, some date back to 100 years, from the colonial era, in the entire Maharashtra and their situation is also dilapidated," he told ANI.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey strongly criticised the authorities. "The incident is very unfortunate... Why did the authority not put up barricades when the bridge was weak? Why was the security of the tourists not tightened...? All the higher authorities responsible for this bridge's maintenance should be arrested and punished," he said.

Dubey further claimed that funds were allocated but never used. "A fund of Rs 8 crore was also allocated for the bridge, but stayed on paper... Looking at the poor conditions of Pune, people can't even travel as tourists?... We demand from CM Devendra Fadnavis and Dy CM Ajit Pawar that all those responsible must be punished, auditing of all old bridges should be done, and security should be deployed at all tourist places. This matter is straightaway a case of murder."

The search and rescue operation stopped the agency from moving out, and a collapsed part of the bridge was removed from the river.

Further investigation into the cause of the collapse is still underway.