The fear of the search teams regarding reptiles in the Savitri river was confirmed, they spotted five crocodiles basking on the banks of the river.
Multiple search teams recovered bodies of two more Mahad bridge collapse victims from the Savitri river in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Sunday, taking the death toll to 28. Even after five days of exhaustive combing operations, supplemented by high-tech devices, the agencies have not been able to locate the complete wreckage of the two missing MSRTC buses and private vehicles that plunged into the flooded river on Tuesday night. On Sunday, two bodies – yet to be identified – were fished out from the waters near Owale hamlet, around 15 km from the accident site. Police officers said the bodies recovered on Sunday were disfigured and attempts were on to identify them.
Debris of bus found
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Navy and Coast Guard teams, which are scanning the waters along the 130 km length of the river, recovered another part of one of the fallen buses near Harihareshwar. The outer body part, probably ripped during the fall, was found beached on the river bank, nearly 12 km from the collapsed bridge. The teams had found another part of a bus as well as a seat on Friday. "The part of the bus fished out on Sunday seemed to be from the front part of the vehicle. It must have drifted so far due to the string draft of the river. It was spotted now as the river level has normalised with rains receding in the region," said senior police inspector Ravindra Shinde.
According to local NDRF deputy commander Pandit Ithape, the river level has reduced by five to six feet. "The draft and undercurrents have also mellowed, allowing divers to dive in a lot closer to the crash point. This will help in the search operation as well as settle the dirt on the river floor, allowing underwater cameras a clear view," he said.
Five crocodiles spotted
The fear of the search teams regarding reptiles in the Savitri river was confirmed on Sunday. According to local authorities, the teams that commenced the search operation at 7 AM on Sunday, spotted five crocodiles basking on the banks of the river. "Five crocodiles were seen gaping on different spots along the bank of the river – between 20-25 km from the accident point. There were no incidents involving crocodiles with any of the search teams but they have been put on an alert," said Shinde, adding that the reptiles were between seven to 12 feet in size.
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