Mumbai bridge collapse: Memories of colleagues who died keep nurse awake at night

Nurse Vijay Bhagwat was on his way for night shift duty at GT Hospital along with his three colleagues when they were caught in the collapse

Vijay Bhagwat, head nurse at Gokuldas Tejpal (GT) Hospital, who fractured his right shoulder in the pedestrian bridge collapse at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), is not able to sleep. “I keep getting flashes of what happened that night. I saw there were dead bodies around me when I regained consciousness.”

Three of the deceased in the incident were Bhagwat’s colleagues — Apoorva Prabhu, 35, Ranjana Tambe, 40 and Bhakti Shinde , 40 — who he had worked with for nearly a decade. “Tambe and I had joined the hospital in 2005,” he said.

Bhagwat, 38, was on his way for night shift duty at the hospital along with Prabhu, Tambe and Shinde when they were caught in the collapse. Bhagwat underwent a seven-hour long surgery on Friday where 12 plates were fitted into his body to repair the fracture. His wife, Tejaswini who is also a nurse in Ulhasnagar, is taking care of him at GT Hospital.

“This was his daily route. I learnt about the incident when he called me,” she said. The couple lives in Kalyan with their 10-year-old daughter.

Like Bhagwat, three other people who were injured during the bridge collapse have been admitted to Sir JJ Hospital. “They were operated for leg and spine fractures, but all are stable now,” said a doctor at the hospital.

At St George Hospital, nine patients were admitted on Saturday. However, none of them are in a critical condition, said Dr Madhukar Gaikwad, medical superintendent of the hospital. Dombivli resident Jinal Fofalia, 31, a stock broker, sustained severe head injuries and took discharge against medical advice on Friday. Doctors said he has been admitted to a hospital in Dombivli.

Mohammed Athar, 28, who had fractured both legs in the collapse, was operated upon on Friday. “It will take at least one and half months for the patients to get back to their routine. Most will need physiotherapy,” Dr Gaikwad added. Meanwhile three other injured people, including two policemen, were shifted to Bombay Hospital. One of them is in the intensive care unit (ICU).

A family of three injured in bridge are getting treated for fractures at Jaslok Hospital.

On Friday, doctors at Jaslok Hospital operated upon Advik Navle, a three-year old boy who fractured his toes in the fall from the bridge. Advik’s father, Raju, 33, sustained multiple fractures to his left foot and spine. Doctors said he may take at least one and half years to recover. “The bone in his foot had completely shattered into pieces. It is possible he may develop arthritis in the future,” said Dr Ameet Pispati, director, department of orthopaedic surgery at Jaslok Hospital.