Following the bridge collapse over the Indrayani River near Talegaon in Pune, the rescue operation has officially concluded. The death toll in the tragedy reached four and 51 others were injured. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) officials confirmed that all missing persons have now been accounted for. The narrow footbridge was packed with over 150-200 people when a section of it gave way, plunging dozens into the water. Eyewitness Swapnil Kollam said, "There were more than 150-200 people on the bridge but at the place where the bridge collapsed, there were more than 50 people... It is God's grace that my family is safe."
List of Rescue People
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Another eyewitness, Nikhil Kollam, described the collapse as a moment of divine intervention. "It is Lord Ram's grace that we are safe. Today is the rebirth of me and my family," he said, visibly shaken.
Morning Visuals From the Collapse Site
According to District Collector Jitendra Dudi, the incident occurred at around 3.15 pm and rescue teams were alerted by 3.30 pm. Seven victims were rushed to the ICU at Atharva Hospital, where six were said to be out of danger, while one remained in critical but stable condition.
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 entire Maharashtra and their situation is also dilapidated."
By late night, the damaged section of the bridge had been removed from the river, and the search and rescue operation had concluded. However, further investigation into the cause of the collapse is still ongoing.