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CURCHOREM
That is, until Thursday evening, when the collapse of the footbridge and the recovery of three bodies within 24 hours in massive joint search, rescue and recovery operations turned the site into an unlikely spot attracting many visitors.
Search operations came to a halt on Friday evening and did not resume on Saturday, even as the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team had been asked to remain on standby.
Dharbandora Deputy Collector Agnelo Fernandes told The Goan that the NDRF team was asked to pull back search operations, as there were no missing complaint with local police stations.
“Hence, no search and recovery operations took place at the site on Saturday,” said Fernandes.
However, that did not stop people from different parts of the State from visiting this since Saturday morning.
“I saw news of this footbridge collapse on TV and it became national news. I came here to visit the site out of sheer curiosity,” admitted Ujwal Shet from Bori-Shiroda.
Another visitor, Elvis, had arrived from Margao for a similar purpose, but added that authorities act only when tragedies take place.
“The local body and authorities concerned should have taken precautions to dismantle the old footbridge before this tragedy took place. The government machinery moves only after such tragic incidents,” he said.
