2 Buses, Many Vehicles Plunge Into River At least 22 people were feared to have drowned after a nearly 90-year-old bridge on the Mumbai-Goa highway collapsed during a torrential downpour in the region on Tuesday night. Those feared dead include the passengers and crew of two Maharashtra state transport buses bound for Mumbai that plunged into the swollen river Savitri after a large portion of the bridge caved in. There were unconfirmed reports that other vehicles were swept away in the floodwaters as well. No bodies had been recovered by Wednesday night. The incident took place close to midnight. It is believed the drivers of the two buses, being driven in pitch darkness amid heavy rain, failed to see that sections of the Britishera, masonry bridge had crumbled under the weight of the floodwaters. “The primary reason seems to be the high pressure caused by the flooding of the river Savitri due to heavy rains in the catchment (area) of Mahabaleshwar,“ said Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Six families from Mumbai have so far reported relatives missing in the tragedy . The Centre rushed four teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), along with 12 boats, for rescue operations at the site of the accident in Mahad. The Coast Guard and the Navy are involved as well. The search and rescue operation began within hours of the accident despite the rain and darkness. The Coast Guard deployed a Chetak helicopter to carry out a search while the Navy flew in a Seaking 42C all-weather aircraft along with a diving team. A Seaking 42B helicopter on another mission was also diverted to the area. The NDRF deployed divers with inflatable dinghies to scour the choppy waters of the Savitri. However, hours into the operation, search teams were unable to find the bodies or trace the vehicles that were swept away . “So far, we have not been able to find the bodies or anything else, but the operation will continue tomorrow (Thursday). The visibility under water is low,“ said an NDRF diver. Two ex tremely heavy magnets have now been dropped on the riverbed close to the site of the collapse. The bridge collapse has once again focused attention on areas with poor-quality road infrastructure that is also outdated. The MumbaiGoa NH-66 (earlier NH-17) is a scenic stretch with panoramic views of the coast, but remains a death trap. In recent years, the rising number of casualties on this two-lane highway has prompted travellers headed for Goa to take a detour via Pune and Kolhapur. Centre providing all aid for rescue op: Rajnath Union home minister Rajnath Singh described the collapse of a nearly 90-year-old bridge on the Mumbai-Goa highway as “unfortunate“and said the Centre was giving all possible help to the Maharashtra government in the rescue effort. He told the Lok Sabha that besides NDRF teams, two helicopters had been deployed for the rescue operations.“What happened is very painful and unfortunate,“ Rajnath made the statement after Shiv Sena member Vinayak Raut raised the issue in the House.