Bridge over Kali river collapses in Karnataka, traffic disrupted

The old bridge across the Kali river in the Uttara Kannada district collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday, leading to heavy traffic along national highway 66, which connects Goa to Karnataka.

A large section of the bridge caved in at around 1:30 am while a truck was crossing it, causing the driver to fall into the river and get injured, according to the Karwar police. Officials mentioned that the bridge was being used for traffic heading towards Goa since the construction of a new bridge a decade ago. The injured truck driver has been identified as Bala Murugan from Tamil Nadu. The truck, which was en route to Karwar, fell into the water. The night patrol team alerted the higher police officials. “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 the driver,” said Superintendent of Police (Karwar) M Narayana. “He is admitted to Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences and Hospital. The truck driver is stated to be stable and is recovering,” he added. Traffic on the new bridge was temporarily halted after the incident. Later, vehicles, except heavy ones, were allowed to pass through, as stated by Karwar police.

Traffic movement on the new bridge was restricted as the Karnataka authorities were checking its stability following the collapse of the old bridge, said Harish Raut Desai, in-charge of Goa’s Canacona police station. An FIR has also been registered in connection with the incident.