This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-36961497

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Many missing after India bridge collapses on key Goa highway India bridge collapse: More bus passengers feared dead
(about 13 hours later)
At least 22 people are missing after a highway bridge connecting the city of Mumbai with the beach resort state of Goa in western India collapsed. Emergency workers are searching for some 20 people feared dead after two buses plunged into a river when a road bridge gave way after torrential rain.
Officials said two buses carrying passengers plunged into a flooded river after the collapse early on Wednesday. Two bodies were found in the River Savitri, but rescuers fear the others were swept downstream.
Police officer Sanjay Patil told the Associated Press that rescuers had not spotted any vehicles or survivors. The bridge south of Mumbai links the city with Goa, a state popular with tourists.
Heavy rains are hindering rescue operations. Traffic has been diverted to a new bridge in the area. More than 100 rescuers and divers have been searching for survivors but heavy rains have hindered their efforts.
OP Singh, chief of the state-run National Disaster Response Force, said 80 rescuers, including divers, had been rushed to the area. No vehicles or survivors were spotted.
He said early reports indicated that at least two buses, travelling on the old bridge, fell into the Savitri river which was flooded by heavy monsoon rains. Disaster management chief O P Singh told AFP: "The flow of currents is very strong, making it difficult to launch a full-scale search operation. We are looking for vehicles and bodies over a stretch of eight kilometres (5 miles)."
"The buses are not traceable within a kilometre of the bridge. Due to downstream current, the buses may have been swept further away," Rakesh Ranjan of the National Disaster Response Force told the BBC. Rakesh Ranjan of the National Disaster Response Force told the BBC there was no sign of the buses within a kilometre of the bridge and they may have been swept further by the current.
In March, a flyover under construction in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) collapsed, killing at least 20 people and injuring nearly 100. Devendra Fadnavis, chief minister of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said the collapse likely occurred from the heavy rains and flooded river which thrashed the bridge for days.
Eyewitness Navnath Mahadev Khandekar, who was working in a restaurant, told the BBC he saw people fall into the river at about 11:30 at night.
"We were switching off the lights and closing the restaurant when one of our boys called me and showed me a man drowning in the water.
"We could not do anything as we did not have ropes or anything that could help us save him."
Safety issues such as lack of inspections and the use of substandard materials have plagued construction in the country.
In March, a flyover being built in the city of Kolkata (Calcutta) collapsed, killing at least 20 people and injuring nearly 100.
And in 2011, some 32 people died and 132 were injured after a bridge collapsed at a political event in Darjeeling in West Bengal.And in 2011, some 32 people died and 132 were injured after a bridge collapsed at a political event in Darjeeling in West Bengal.