Part of Maha over-bridge collapses; one dead, 14 injured

According to a statement from the district information office, Chandrapur, all the injured were shifted to Ballarpur rural hospital and some of them were later moved to the Government Medical College and Hospital at Chandrapur.

A 48-year-old woman died and 14 others were injured after falling on a railway track on Sunday after a portion of the foot over-bridge (FoB) , they were walking on, collapsed at Ballarshah railway station in Chandrapur district, around 175km from Nagpur, people in the know of the matter said. 

A portion of the foot over-bridge collapsed at Balharshah Junction railway station, in Chandrapur on Sunday. (ANI)

The deceased woman was identified as Neelima Rangari.

According to a statement from the district information office, Chandrapur, all the injured were shifted to Ballarpur rural hospital and some of them were later moved to the Government Medical College and Hospital at Chandrapur.

“One of the injured passengers, Neelima Rangari, succumbed to her injuries at a private nursing home in Chandrapur,” the statement read.

According to the information gathered from the divisional railway headquarters, the incident occurred around 5.15pm when the passengers were using the FoB to go from platform number 1 from platform number 2.

“A large number of passengers were using the FoB in order to catch a Pune-bound train when a part of it suddenly caved in. As a result, 13 people fell around 20 feet down on the railway track,” an official of the Government Railway Police (GRP) was quoted as saying by PTI.

There was a huge rush of passengers on the Ballarshah railway station for the Ballarshah-Wardha passenger, which departs from platform number 5, said people in the know of the matter. The Kazipeth-Pune weekly superfast train also arrives during the same period. Hence there was a double rush on the FoB, said one of the people quoted above.

“Large number of passengers were using the FoB to board a Pune-bound train. A portion of slab of the dilapidated FoB suddenly collapsed and the passengers fell down, sustaining injuries,” Chandrapur district collector Vinay Gowda said.

No train was running on the tracks at the time of the incident. The local railway police and people present in the area immediately rushed to the rescue of the injured and helped them.

The local police officials and officers of the district administration engaged in the relief works and helped the injured passengers, Gowda said. Maharashtra minister for forests, cultural affairs and fisheries, Sudhir Munganttiwar, who is also Chandrapur guardian minister, visited the hospital and inquired about the health of the injured persons. Munganttiwar directed the hospital administration to provide all the necessary treatment and facilities to all the injured persons.

The central railways also announced an ex-gratia of one lakh to the grievously injured and ₹ 50,000 to those who sustained simple injuries. “The injured are being given best medical treatment... some are also being shifted to other hospitals for early recovery,” Shivaji Sutar, railways chief public relation officer said. The railways also announced an ex-gratia of ₹5 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased.