Bridge across Indrayani river near Pune collapses, at least 20 tourists swept away

A bridge over the Indrayani River collapsed in Kundamala, Maval taluka of Pune on Sunday afternoon, causing 25–30 tourists to fall into the river. Heavy rains had raised water levels. Local police, fire brigade, and NDRF teams rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation.

Police, fire brigade, Ambulance and NDRF teams rushed to the site and launched a rescue operation.

Several people, mostly tourists, were missing and feared drowned. According to reports, at least six tourists had drowned and several others are feared to have to have drowned. Eight people have been rescued so far, and two women are still stuck under the bridge, it reported.

Visuals from the scene show sections of the bridge, mostly directly over the waters, have broken down and fallen into the river while rescue personnel from various agencies worked to locate and rescue the victims.

Raised water levels, due to heavy rains in the region, exacerbated the disaster. Maval has been recording heavy rains in the previous two days, causing the Indrayani River to be in spate.

Kundmala is a popular tourist destination that sees high footfall during monsoons. The footfall was higher as it was a Sunday, and there were reports that the old bridge was overcrowded when the accident occurred.

NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule took to X, "A bridge over the Indrayani river collapsed at Kundmala in Maval taluka of Pune district. It is feared that some citizens on the bridge may have been swept away. This incident is very unfortunate and I pray to God that all these citizens are safe. I have spoken to the District Collector, Pune regarding this incident and he is sending all necessary help. My humble request to the citizens is that please take necessary precautions while going for monsoon tourism. Follow the safety rules strictly".

(With inputs from syndicated feed)