Seven people were killed and 20 are missing after the Mahad bridge on Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed. (PTI)
The bodies of three women, a bus driver, and four others have been found a day after a British-era bridge collapsed on the Mumbai-Goa highway in Maharashtra on Tuesday.
The body of bus driver SS Kamle was found 100 km downstream from the collapsed bridge, apparently washed away in the fast-moving Savitri river. He was identified by his ID badge.
Mr Kamle was driving one of the two state-run buses which fell with 22 people on board when the 50-foot bridge built in the 1940s crashed after days of torrential rain in Mahad, around 170 km from Mumbai. Three cars were also swept away. Since yesterday, seven bodies have been found and 18 people are missing.
A 300 kg magnet was lowered into the 40-foot deep river to trace the buses. "Something has got stuck to the magnet and efforts are on to pull it out of the river," a local official told the Press Trust of India.
Teams of rescuers including navy divers have been searching the river using a chopper, aircraft and inflatable dinghies but they have been severely challenged by the strong currents.
The large crowd of people watching the rescue efforts include family members of those missing.
A boat carrying National Disaster Response Force personnel capsized this morning. The divers had to be rescued by a chopper.
On Wednesday, even elite marine commandos or MARCOS found the current too strong to risk diving into the river.
A lawmaker said in parliament that two years ago, British officials had warned Maharashtra that the bridge is too old and should be closed to public. The brick structure had trees growing on it.
The Maharashtra government, however, declared the bridge safe just two months ago.
Traffic has been diverted to the new parallel bridge. For five days, there has been incessant rain in parts of coastal Konkan, northern and western Maharashtra.