In a startling turn of events, Mumbai’s gleaming new Atal Setu became the stage for an unexpected drama this Sunday. Around 3 pm, a seemingly ordinary journey across the city’s latest engineering marvel turned cinematic when a red Maruti Suzuki Ignis, as if auditioning for an action movie, veered dramatically and collided with the railing, flipping over in a heart-stopping spectacle.
This jaw-dropping scene, straight out of a Hollywood blockbuster, was captured by a dashcam in the car trailing behind. The footage shows the hatchback, as if possessed by a stunt driver, swerving across lanes before its climactic encounter with the railing. The car, en route to Chirle, a quaint village in Raigad district, was carrying an all-female cast — two women and children. Miraculously, and perhaps adding a happy ending to this wild ride, all passengers emerged safe.
The plot thickens as we learn that the car, ferrying its precious cargo, lost control and toppled over on the Atal Setu. The driver, who might have mistaken the bridge for a race track, sustained minor injuries. The car, however, wasn’t as lucky, bearing the brunt of the ordeal with a battered roof and windshield. The four other stars of this unintended thriller, including two young children, aged between five and 11, walked away unscathed, much to the relief of the Nhava Sheva police.
This incident, which could easily be mistaken for a film shoot, marked the first accident on India’s longest sea bridge, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sewri-Nhava Sheva Atal Setu. This architectural behemoth, stretching 21.8 km with a 16.5 km sea-link, connects the bustling locales of south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.
As the drama unfolded, our real-life heroes, the traffic police, swiftly intervened. The injured woman was taken to a Navi Mumbai hospital, only to be whisked away by her family to Mumbai for further care.
In a city that never sleeps and a bridge that promises to shorten distances, this incident serves as a thrilling yet cautionary tale — even in Mumbai, life can sometimes be more thrilling than the movies!
