Four persons died and 18 others were seriously injured after an old iron pedestrian bridge on the Indrayani river collapsed on Sunday afternoon in Pune’s Maval tehsil, prima facie due to crowding by tourists who ignored the warning board at the spot, a state minister said.Teams of the National Disaster Response Force have been conducting rescue operations at the spot over the last four hours to remove the portions of the structure and locate a trapped person, officials said.”While two bodies were recovered from beneath the structure, two persons succumbed to injuries during treatment after being rescued,” said Talegaon Dabhade police station senior inspector Pradeep Rayannawar.He said one person is suspected to be trapped under the portions of the collapsed bridge, and rescue efforts are on.The incident occurred at 3:30 pm in the Kundamala area, which has been seeing heavy rains over the past few days, giving the river a steady flow, another official said. It was not raining when the bridge collapsed in the presence of at least 100 picnickers, he added.”In the mishap, so far 38 people have been rescued of which 18 sustained serious injuries and they are currently under treatment in three different hospitals. During treatment, two people succumbed to injuries,” a statement from the district administration informed.
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