Seventeen months after a Foot-Over-Bridge (FOB) stampede at Elphinstone Road Railway station claimed the lives of 23 commuters, another FOB collapsed outside the iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Thursday evening, leaving at least 5 persons dead and 30 others injured.
The FOB, which connects the various platforms of the suburban and Harbour lines of the Central Railway at the CSMT with a lane leading to the Azad Maidan, came crashing down at 7.35 pm, when nearly 50-odd commuters were rushing inside the suburban railway terminus from across the road to take local trains back home.
The FOB — also known in knowledgeable circles as Kasab bridge as it was this bridge that Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab had taken after indulging in mayhem to head towards Madam Cama Hospital for second round of strike on the night of November 26, 2008—is used by thousands of commuters all through the day.
Three women were among those killed in the mishap. Three of those killed were identified as Apoorva Prabhu (Female 35), Ranjana Tambe (Female, 40), Zahid Shiraj Khan (Male,32). One more person killed was also a woman. She had, however, not been identified till late in the night.
The injured were rushed to the St. George Hospital, G. T. Hospital and Sion Hospital.
Shockingly enough, the FOB that crashed had been “inspected” after the September 29, 2017 Elphinstone Road station’s FOB and declared as “safe” by structural engineers.
Confirming this, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said: “During the structural audit, this FOB had been declared by the structural engineers. They had recommended minor repairs. We have ordered a high-level inquiry into incident. Meanwhile, a case of murder is being registered against those responsible for the collapse.
The Chief Minister announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the next of each of those killed in the mishap and Rs 50,000 to those injured.
Expressing anguish over the FOB crash,Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted: “Deeply anguished by the loss of lives due to the foot overbridge accident in Mumbai. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. Wishing that the injured recover at the earliest. The Maharashtra Government is providing all possible assistance to those affected”
Thursday’s was the third FOB mishap during the last one and a half years.
In first of its kind human tragedy witnessed in the metropolis, as many as 23 commuters were killed and at least 39 others injured in a massive stampede that took place on a narrow foot-over-bridge (FoB) connecting the Parel and Elphinstone Railway stations in south-central Mumbai on September 29,2017.