Karwar-Goa Kali Bridge collapses; one injured after lorry falls into river

The 40-year-old bridge is said to have collapsed at around 1 am. Three portions of the bridge collapsed simultaneously.

Karwar: A bridge, built across the Kali river collapsed near Kodibag, Karwar, in the early hours of Wednesday. The incident resulted in heavy traffic jams along National Highway 66, between Karnataka and Goa.

The 40-year-old bridge is said to have collapsed at around 1 am on Wednesday. Three portions of the bridge collapsed simultaneously when a Karwar-bound lorry with Tamil Nadu registration was crossing it. Local fishermen rescued the driver of a truck that fell into the river.

There are two bridges on National Highway 66 over the Kali river connecting Karwar with Goa. The old bridge that was constructed in 1983 has collapsed. Sources say both the bridges were in use as officials had claimed that the old bridge was strong and stable.

A new bridge was constructed right next to the old bridge in 2018.

“Our night patrolling team noticed the collapsed bridge and alerted the control room. There was a truck in the river and the injured driver was on top of the vehicle. The local fishermen along with our team managed to rescue driver Bala Murugan of Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu,” Superintendent of Police M Narayana told reporters.

“He is admitted to Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital. The truck driver is stated to be stable and is recovering,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner K Lakshmi Priya, however, banned the movement of vehicles on the new bridge and directed the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials to submit a report on the strength and stability of the new bridge to prevent any further incidents.

The DC directed the regional officer of NHAI (Honnavar) to coordinate and lead efforts to verify and report the stability of the new bridge.

Karwar MLA Satish Sail charged that the IRB company that has taken the responsibility of laying the 4-lane highway has not conducted the proper stability test of the bridge and allowed vehicular movement on the old bridge. This resulted in the tragedy, he said.

It can be recalled here that the company was also in the news for the wrong reasons recently after a massive landslide on National Highway 66 near Shirur village in Ankola that resulted in the death of at least 11 persons.

Experts had blamed the company for cutting the hills vertically which resulted in the landslide.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is in Mysuru, called the Uttara Kannada DC and instructed her to ensure the safety of all bridges and roads in the district and to take precautions to prevent any loss of life.