Bridge pillar falls into Ganga in Prayagraj, major accident averted

At the time of the incident, hundreds of onlookers were recording the operation on their mobile phones. Videos of the mishap quickly went viral on social media.

A major accident was narrowly averted on Monday evening during the construction of the country’s second-largest six-lane bridge over the Ganga river in Prayagraj.

A screengrab of the video which has gone viral (Sourced)

According to reports, engineers were attempting to transfer a pre-constructed pillar of the bridge from a container vessel onto a trailer truck, which was meant to carry it to the construction site. However, during the transfer, the crane lifting the heavy pillar lost balance and toppled into the Ganga, along with the trailer truck and the pillar.

At the time of the incident, hundreds of onlookers were recording the operation on their mobile phones. Videos of the mishap quickly went viral on social media.

Following the accident, company officials assessed the damage and initiated an investigation into the cause of the collapse. However, representatives of the private firm declined to comment until the investigation is complete.

An employee working at the site claimed the crane became unstable mid-air due to strong air pressure while lifting the massive structure, which led to the mishap. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

It is worth noting that the concrete structures for the bridge are being constructed separately and are extremely heavy. These components are first loaded onto container vessels using cranes, transported to the construction site via river, and then transferred onto trailer trucks for final positioning.