Search for 20 feared dead after India bridge collapsed in heavy monsoon rain

Rescuers were searching on Wednesday for 20 people missing and feared dead after two buses plunged into a fast-flowing river in western India when a bridge collapsed in torrential monsoon rain, officials said.

Emergency workers pulled two bodies from the rain-swollen river but were still searching for the others feared swept downstream following the accident south of Mumbai overnight on Tuesday.

Television footage showed large chunks of the British-colonial era bridge had fallen into the Savitri river, but there was no sign of the vehicles in the water.

The bridge is about 170km from Mumbai along a major highway connecting India’s financial capital with the tourism state of Goa.

“Two bodies have been recovered by rescue agencies. We are trying to ascertain their identities and the [rescue] operations are on,” Sanjay Patil, police superintendent of Raigad district where the accident occurred, said.