Mumbai bridge crashes on rail tracks, 3 injured

Mumbai, July 3 (IANS) At least three persons were injured when a portion of a foot overbridge crashed on the Western Railway tracks here during Tuesday morning peak hours, creating a scare among the commuters, an official said.

The crash has affected Mumbai’s lifeline — the suburban train services, he said.

Heavy overnight rains and waterlogging in many areas is suspected to be the cause of the crash of the structure, known as the Gokhale Bridge, on S.V. Road, which connects Andheri East and Andheri West.

There were no immediate confirmation whether the injured were commuters or pedestrians. Rescue operations continued to save those trapped under the debris.

Work was also on to remove the debris from the Western Railway tracks which blocked services in both directions, hitting hard the Mumbai commuters bound for their offices.

The Western Railway said trains were being operated between Goregaon-Virar on the northern side and Bandra-Churchgate in the southern direction, besides Harbour Line from Bandra-CST.

According to a railway spokesperson C.N.K. David, the portion of the bridge crashed at around 7.30 a.m. on the the southern-end of the Andheri platform numbers 7-8.

The falling bridge damaged a portion of the platform roof, blocked the railway lines and damaged the high-tension electric wires and overhead power equipments, he said.

“The restoration work is in full swing and we hope to resume normal train services in the next few hours,” David said.

As a precautionary measure, Mumbai Police have stopped all traffic above and below the bridge till the green signal from the Western Railway.

Mumbai’s Dabbawalas have suspended all their tiffin box deliveries on Tuesday on the Western Railway routes but would continue on other routes.