The Gokhale bridge crash brought WR services to a halt on July 3

MUMBAI: The collapse of Andheri ’s Gokhale bridge on July 3 claimed its second victim on Sunday. Vile Parle resident Manoj Mehta (52), who was on ventilator from the day of the crash, succumbed to infection and multi-organ dysfunction.

Taking the 7.28 am Dahanu local train from Andheri was Mehta’s ritual for many years. On July 3, as the chartered accountant waited for his train on platform No. 8, concrete debris from the bridge collapse came crashing down on him. Mehta suffered critical injuries to the spine and was taken in for a surgery at Balabhai Nanavati Hospital in Vile Parle. His family shifted him there after initial treatment at the civic-run RN Cooper Hospital. He had also suffered injuries on the ribs, shoulder and lungs.

COO of Nanavati Dr Rajendra Patankar said that the injury to his spine and other organs were grave. “He was on ventilator. His kidney functions had suffered too, making it necessary to put him on Continuous Renal Replacement Therapies (CRRT), where dialysis is provided as a continuous 24-hour therapy,” he said. Mehta, however, developed infection following which he was kept under isolation in an ICU. “He was conscious at times as his brain functions were not affected but overall he remained critical throughout,” said Patankar. Mehta was declared dead around 7.30 pm following which his body was sent for an autopsy.

His younger brother and business partner Rajesh Mehta was inconsolable. “He put up a good fight but he couldn’t win it. The injuries were too severe. He never spoke after the collapse though there were fleeting moments when he was conscious and recognized us. That gave us hope,” he told TOI.

The brothers jointly ran a construction company. He said his older brother handled the company’s finances and would always be the first one to reach their Palghar office. Mehta is survived by his wife and two daughters.

With this death, the overbridge collapse destroyed two families. The first victim was Asmita Katkar (35) who left behind her six-year-old son Siddhesh and husband Lahu. The homemaker was returning after dropping Siddhesh to school when the bridge had collapsed. Three others who were injured in the collapse, friends Dwarka Prasad Sharma and Girdhari Singh; and Versova resident Haresh Koli, are on their way to recovery.

