[cogWheel]

Another bridge collapse. This time in Parel, Himachal Pradesh. No fatalities fortunately.

The moment when the incident occurred, a car, a mini truck and a motorcycle was passing the bridge.

Consequently, when the bridge collapsed, the motorcycle fell into the river, while the car and the mini truck got stuck.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-...i3jL2AreP.html

The car appears to be at an impossible angle. Fortunate that it did not slide down. Must have been a scary experience for the occupants and a difficult task to get out into safety.
Any thoughts on how to best deal with such situations?

[Aditya]

Bridge collapses in Himachal Pradesh - post moved to a new thread.

[SmartCat]

Fantastic handbrake on the little car (Maruti 800?)

Originally Posted by cogWheel

Any thoughts on how to best deal with such situations?

A Prayer before you cross a bridge and regular checkup of your car's handbrake

[Rahul Bhalgat]

The bridge was just 15 years old. It broke at the middle of the span across the river. This indicates structural defect / construction flaw, which might have been worsened by tremors occuring sometimes in the region.

Thank God, there were no casualties.

[born_free]

ABP news report

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g47BupIu5-c

[GTO]

Originally Posted by cogWheel

Another bridge collapse. This time in Parel, Himachal Pradesh. No fatalities fortunately.

We always say in the offroading circles how pics conceal the difficulty level of an obstacle. I think it's the same here. The angle in real life must be so steep that it would be a task to even walk up to safety.

I hope the biker who fell off the bridge hasn't suffered critical injuries.

Originally Posted by smartcat

Fantastic handbrake on the little car (Maruti 800?)

And the truck too! Most commercial vehicles on our roads have poorly maintained brakes. See how close he is to the breaking point.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Fantastic handbrake on the little car (Maruti 800?)

That's called a "Himalayan" Maruti 800 .

Driving in hills, steepest and narrowest of slopes, anticipating landslides is a regular affair for these guys as we have normally encountered while driving here.

His reflexes did a wonderful job and saved him and his humble 4 wheeler. You never know if this guy locked wheels by remaining in one of the forward gear too!

[srishiva]

Looking at the bridge, it shows good quality construction except the point where it broke cleanly
Does it look like segmented structures joined to form the bridge and the steel re-inforcement has given away ?

[harry10]

OMG!
This is one of their worst nightmare. Motorcycle guy was fortunate there was water flowing and not barren land. His rate of survival increases a lot if he knew how to swim. Great job by car and truck guy. In such situations people panic and forget even basic stuff like applying handbrake.

If this was a foreign nation the contractor will be sued from all corners but in India no one will care. Blame game will go on and all forgotten within few days.

[aravind.anand]

Great presence of mind for the Maruti 800 driver and the truck driver. The truck driver has also wisely emptied the load he had been carrying to avoid a brake failure.

Second thought - should the Maruti 800 slowly come down near the breaking point and hold there? as I fear the other pillar of the bridge is under severe stress at the moment and can give up, which means the bridge would come down crashing into the river.

[abhishek46]

Even though, it is heartening to see the the Truck and Car escaping the destruction, I wonder if at all it is possible to rescue the vehicles from such a mess.
Judging by the position where the vehicles are, I reckon these can be rescued only by means of a heavy lift helicopter.