Morning commuters were left in shock and disappointment today in Mumbai, as a portion of the Gokhale bridge collapsed. The incident which occurred at around 7.30 am today, is said to have been caused by incessant rain. The bridge connects Andheri East and Andheri West stations and is used by thousands daily. The collapse, in addition to leaving debris on the tracks, has ripped off some of the overhead wires.
The Mumbai Police Force tweeted that traffic above and below the bridge has been put on halt as of now.
Part of Gokhale Bridge, connecting Andheri East to West has collapsed affecting the overhead wires too.Trains on the western line are affected.BMC,Fire Brigade as well as RPF Staff & Officers are deputed on spot for support.Traffic above & below the bridge is stopped for now pic.twitter.com/LMcKmwyDCh
— Mumbai Police (@MumbaiPolice) July 3, 2018
Images from the station show thousands stranded as local train services have been stopped.
Bridge collapses near Mumbai’s Andheri station, local train services hit, thousands strandedhttps://t.co/JEDMGRjjuz#MumbaiRains pic.twitter.com/Ac2goHXw7V
— Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 3, 2018
NDTV quotes Western Railway spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar as:
“A part of the foot overbridge has collapsed which has halted our up and down services of Western Railway. Our officers have reached to the spot and are accessing the situation. Thankfully, no train was passing beneath the track.”
Images and videos flooding Twitter show the extent of the damage:
A bridge between Andheri & Parla has broken down. Train services have been hit. @TimesNow @timesofindia @RidlrMUM @MumbaiPolice @IndiaToday @indiatvnews pic.twitter.com/rDBRKQrPRz
— Gaurav Dedhia (@gauravdedhia2) July 3, 2018
A part of bridge collapses near Andheri station blocking movement on all lines at 07.40hrs
Services on @WesternRly have been disrupted
More details awaited@WesternRly @mumbairailusers @Akkibhatkar @MumbaiMirror @RailMinIndia @rajtoday @manthankmehta pic.twitter.com/8TkI4A3jlB— RailMumbai (@RailMumbai) July 3, 2018
Services on @WesternRly comes to standstill as bridge collapses near Andheri
No casualties reported till now
Commuters are requested to plan their journey accordingly@WesternRly @RidlrMUM @smart_mumbaikar @mumbairailusers @rajtoday @manthankmehta @ANI @Akkibhatkar @abpmajhatv pic.twitter.com/QFihsdTZlL— RailMumbai (@RailMumbai) July 3, 2018
Part of Andheri East-West flyover bridge collapsed. Local train services are hampered. Luckily no major mishap.#andheriflyovercollapse pic.twitter.com/7rR5tz6xlH
— Arvind (@MeMumbai) July 3, 2018
A National Disaster Response Force team and firemen have arrived at the scene and worked through the rain to examine any pedestrian causalities. Recent updates claim 5 people have been injured, out of which two are in a critical condition.
The collapse has affected many working professionals as their only mode of transportation has been hit. Prashant Ghag, a commuter says:
“When I reached Borivili to board a Churchgate bound train, I came to know that all the lines of Western Railway have come to a halt. With no alternate commute in such rain, I had to return home.”
The Central Railway has however urged citizens not to panic as crowd management has been strengthened:
Don't believe in rumours. Crowd management machinery on Central Railway stations have been strengthened.
Harbour line passengers are allowed to travel on Central Railway main line suburban section.
Please travel without panicking.— Central Railway (@Central_Railway) July 3, 2018
The calamity has resulted in many voicing their disappointment at the upkeeping of infrastructures in the nation:
A bridge cannot withstand monsoon rains in Mumbai & nikal pade bullet trains ke liye. Provide basic infrastructure that works #mumbai #EnoughIsEnough
— Anu Mathew (@Kolavibytes) July 3, 2018
Looking at the picture it defines sheer negligence and no maintenance has been carried out ! @PiyushGoyal whole day we sing everything happens due to @narendramodi now this bridge collapse also is in Honor of Shri @narendramodi
— Sunil Desai (@sunilddesai) July 3, 2018
This is callousness on the part of BMC and Railways who should do period checks for strength of the bridges and flyovers in Mumbai..every monsoon, and Mum is known for it, witnesses some disruption or other…
— Preet Singh (@preet1203) July 3, 2018
Mumbaikars have been taken from granted for a long time now.. BMC is a pathetic corrupt organisation and should take full responsibility of loss of lives in this city due to their inefficiency. @Dev_Fadnavis Sir I votd for @BJP4India twce as a Mumbikar. What hav I got in retrn?
— Desh Bhakt (@deshbhakt____) July 3, 2018
Andheri Railways FoB has collapsed. The part time Rail Min Piyush Goyal is in Mumbai today and that's how recently repaired bridge has welcomed him. Its commuters peak time. Hope local services will resume soon.#MumbaiBridgeCollapse #MumbaiRains https://t.co/O2MLBrrokB
— Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) July 3, 2018
Entire #Andheri to #Virar railway track shut at a peak hour. Luckily no casualties noted yet. But what misery are #Mumbai-kars living in despite paying highest taxes. #Elphinstone #bridge collapse wasn't enough.#MumbaiRains @RailMinIndia
Talk about #BulletTrain #Shivaji statue— Beena Parmar (@BeenaParmar) July 3, 2018
The Western Railway has advised travelling only if necessary, to avoid congestion and subsequent inconvenience:
Restoration of OHE & tracks bet Andheri & Vile Parle which is affected due to falling of part of ROB is underway. Trains are working bet Virar – Goregaon & Bandra-Churchgate but It is advised to travel only if its very necessary to avoid inconvenience please. #WRUpdates @drmbct
— Western Railway (@WesternRly) July 3, 2018
Hindustan Times reports heavy rush at Dadar and Ghatkopar stations, following which additional counters have been set up. At the same time, traffic jams have been reported from several parts of the city, due to waterlogging.
We hope the debris is cleaned up and train services resume as soon as possible as for a city like Mumbai, its rail system is pretty much the lifeline of its daily activities.