Woman injured in Mumbai bridge collapse succumbs to injuries; another patient battles for life

One of the victims injured in the Andheri bridge collapse, Asmita Katkar, succumbed to her injuries on Saturday at Mumbai’s Dr RN Cooper Municipal General Hospital, a report on news agency ANI said . Five people were injured in the 3 June mishap after part of a rail overbridge (ROB) at Mumbai’s suburban Andheri railway station caved in following heavy rains.

Katkar (35), had shown little recovery since the accident and was on life-support. She had sustained injuries to her head, face, chest and arm after taking a steep fall on the tracks along with the bridge. A resident of Dalvi Chawl in Andheri, Katkar was returning after dropping her six-year-old son to school,  The Times of India  reported. She underwent ENT, neuro, plastic and orthopaedic surgeries. She also had undergone a vascular surgery which was performed to attach her crushed left hand to the elbow.

Meanwhile, the condition of another victim, Manoj Mehta, who survived a spinal cord injury, also remains critical. The 52-year-old is undergoing treatment at Nanavati Hospital after two surgeries and has been on ventilator support,  The Hindu  reported. Apart from the spinal fracture, Mehta also suffered from injuries to his upper arm and chest.

“He also suffered a vascular injury. A major vessel in his body has ruptured,” one of the doctors treating Mehta told the newspaper.

He was waiting on platform number 8 for a Dahanu-bound train when the bridge collapsed early morning on Tuesday. He was stuck in the debris for close to an hour before the fire brigade personnel could rescue him, another report in  The Hindu said.

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had visited the accident site and ordered an inquiry by the Commissioner of Rail Safety whose report would have to be submitted within 15 days. Expressing regret over the accident, he said it was “very unfortunate” and “most unexpected”. He also announced Rs one lakh compensation to all people injured in the incident.

The minister said the last safety audit of the Gokhale Bridge had been conducted on 12 November last year and nothing wrong was found.

He said that during the next six months, a joint safety audit will be conducted by the Railways, the BMC and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, at all 445 road over-bridges, foot over-bridges and bridges over pipelines in Mumbai as part of efforts to improve safety for the commuters.