Mumbai, July 3: The Gokhale bridge connecting Andheri east to west over the railway tracks, that collapsed today amid the incessant rainfall, was declared safe in an audit conducted in November.

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal said the foot-over-bridge was among the hundreds which were audited last year after the stampede broke out at Elphinstone Station claiming 22 lives and injuring 32 others.

In order to avert future disasters involving FOBs, the Railways, in coordination with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), will be conducting joint safety audit of over 445 foot-over-bridges across the city.

Goyal said the joint study has been ordered because the bridge that collapsed at Andheri station underwent an audit on November 12 and “nothing abnormal” was found.

The Railway Minister has also tasked the Commissioner of Rail Safety to submit a report within 15 days listing the reasons behind the Andheri bridge collapse.

At least five were injured, including two critically, after a portion of the bridge collapsed at around 7:30 am. Local rail services were disrupted as the concrete slab fell on the tracks, cutting through the electric cables.

The incident could had turned fatal if the driver of an Andheri-bound local would had not applied emergency brakes immediately after spotting the bridge collapse.

"I would like to thank motorman Chandrashekhar Sawant who stopped the train as soon he saw an overhead electric line snap and averted a bigger mishap. He will be awarded Rs 5 lakh," Goyal said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 03, 2018 08:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).