Five people have lost their lives and around 36 people are seriously injured after a foot overbridge collapsed near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST) railway station and BMC in Mumbai this evening.
The collapsed bridge at one of the busiest stations in Mumbai took place during peak hours, around 7:30 pm when there was a huge rush on the overbridge. The overbridge was under construction.
Of the five casualties, two were women, both staff of nearby GT Hospital, where some of the injured people have been taken.
“Foot over bridge connecting CST platform No:1 north end with B T Lane near Times of India building has collapsed,” the Mumbai Police was tweeted.
According to eyewitnesses; repairs were being carried out on the overbridge since this morning, but the bridge was still being used by the public. Millions of people use this foot overbridge every day.
The National Disaster Response Force or NDRF initially said 10 to 12 people were feared trapped under the debris but police later clarified that was not the case.
The traffic in the area has been affected very badly. The police have asked commuters to use alternate routes to avoid traffic blocks.
“We are trying to decongest the area so as to ensure easy movement of ambulances for an emergency. That’s all I can say right now,” Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic. Reported in NDTV news portal.
It is not clear if the CSMT overbridge was part of a safety audit ordered after another foot overbridge had collapsed last year in Andheri. Over 440 bridges had to be assessed in a safety audit after last July’s bridge collapse at Andheri.
In 2017, 23 people were killed in a stampede when the Elphinstone Bridge had collapsed. That bridge belonged to the western railway.
Photo credits: Times Now
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