Over 20 Missing After Bridge Collapse by Rains in India

At least 22 people are missing today after a British-era bridge collapsed on Savitri River in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, because of the heavy rains that hit much of the country.

Speaking to the press, Sheetal Ugale, Raigad district official, said that two buses with 11 passengers each, as well as several cars, fell into the river after the bridge collapsed at 01:00 (local time).

According to PTI news agency, two helicopters and at least 80 members of the National Disaster Response Force were sent to place.

There are many bridges in India, we need to check the safety of the oldest ones, tweeted Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis.

The current monsoon season so far caused over 250 deaths in the country, millions affected people and serious economic losses.

On Sunday nine people were killed, including four children and three women, in the city of Mumbai in Maharashtra, after the collapse of a building.

According to authorities, only in Odisha state 56 people died in the past four days and another 45 in Uttar Pradesh due to rays caused by thunderstorms.

In Assam 34 deaths and more than 1,6 million affected people were recorded in 21 districts of the territory, a situation that forced more than 1,4 million of them to move to 310 relief camps set up by the government.

In Bihar there were 26 deaths, while more than 2,7 million were affected by the weather in 12 districts.

Several rivers in the region are overflowed, forcing local authorities to use more than 1,000 boats to rescue people in the region and to distribute large quantities of food.

In West Bengal at least four people were killed due to bad weather, in Madhya Pradesh a total of 35, and 43 more in Uttarakhand.