Mumbai CSMT Foot Over Bridge Collapse: PM Narendra Modi Says 'Deeply Anguished' After 5 Killed, 36 Injured in Fatal Accident

Mumbai, March 14: Following the fatal bridge collapse outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Station (CSMT), Prime Minister Narendra issued a statement on social media, expressing "deep anguish" over the loss of lives. The PM said he has asked the Maharashtra government to extend all possible assistance to the victim.

"Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to the foot overbridge accident in Mumbai. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. Wishing that the injured recover at the earliest. The Maharashtra Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected," Modi said. Mumbai Foot Over Bridge Collapse: BMC Issues Helpline Numbers, Maharashtra Government Orders Probe

Here's What the PM Tweeted:

At least five people, including 3 women, were killed and 36 were injured when a portion of a busy Footover Bridge near iconic CST railway station here collapsed on Thursday during the peak rush hour, once again raising questions over the safety of such pedestrian structures.A big slab of the FOB came crashing at around 7.20 pm due to which several pedestrians were injured.

The Mumbai Police, Fire Brigade and other rescue agencies reached the spot and immediately evacuated those buried under the rubble and shifted them to hospitals.Five of the injured later succumbed to their injuries. The deceased included Apoorva Prabhu (35), Ranjana Tambe (40), Zahid Shiraj Khan (32), Sarika kulkarni (35) and Tapendra Singh (35).

Of the three deceased women, two were the staff of GT Hospital."A slab of the bridge has fallen which led to the death and injuries of pedestrians. Railway and BMC will conduct a joint enquiry of the incident. There were minor damages in the bridge and the maintenance was going on, why the bridge was not closed during this period will be part of the enquiry," said Maharashtra Minister Vinod Tawde.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also took to Twitter and expressed sadness over the incident, he said, "Pained to hear about the FOB incident near TOI building in Mumbai. Spoke to BMC Commissioner and Mumbai Police officials and instructed to ensure speedy relief efforts in coordination with @RailMinIndia officials.

"The Railway Ministry said the bridge belonged to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) but the Ministry is extending all support to the victims."Railway doctors and personnel are cooperating with BMC in relief and rescue operations," informed Railways.

After the collapse, a blame game started, with the Congress demanding fixing of accountability for the tragedy. "This is a very unfortunate incident. Every time when such incidents occur, discussions are held but again the same thing is repeated. There is utmost corruption in local bodies. Investigations must be done and concerned people must be held accountable," said Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi.

"Government should act against the structural auditors who had given this bridge a safety certificate. FIR must be lodged under Section 302 of IPC," said Congress leader Milind Deora.

BJP leader and MLA Raj Purohit said, "This incident should not have happened and people shouldn't have lost lives. They must be arrested and punished. After the railway bridge collapse, the audit was ordered of all such bridges. The action should be taken against the engineer whosoever had done the audit of this bridge and given the safety certificate.

"This bridge, a portion of which has collapsed today is also called as Kasab Bridge because Kasab has used this bridge to exit from the CSMT station after 26/11 attack. He was pictured near this same bridge while running towards Cama hospital lane where he killed senior ATS officials.

(With ANI inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 14, 2019 10:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).