Bridge falls as crowd gathers after man jumps into river
panaji — Two persons were drowned after a dilapidated foot bridge collapsed into Sanvordem river in south Goa, officials said on Friday. Their bodies were taken out by divers early on Friday.
The body of one more person was fished out of the river. “The deceased has been identified as Santosh Wandal, 26,” an official supervising the relief operation said.
Wandal, incidentally, had jumped off the Sanvordem bridge in a bid to commit suicide late on Thursday. Soon, nearly 40 persons gathered on the dilapidated bridge to witness efforts being made to rescue a struggling Wandal from the river, which led to a part of the bridge to collapse under the crfowd’s weight, triggering a melee.
The tragedy occurred as a crowd assembled on the decadesold bridge on the Sanvordem river in Curchorem village, 45km from here, to watch an unidentified person attempt suicide.
According to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, most of those who fell into the river swam to the bank. —