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Uttarakhand govt orders probe into bridge collapse that killed one, injured 13
On Sunday evening, 15 labourers were working on the bridge when the under-construction part collapsed suddenly
The Uttarakhand government on Monday ordered a probe into the collapse of a bridge leading to the death of a labourer. Thirteen others were injured while working on the bridge on the Badrinath highway (NH- 58) on Sunday.
A team from the Public Works Department inspected the accident site on Monday.
Hariom Sharma, the chief engineer of Public Works Department in the state, said, “A team inspected the accident site on Monday and will be submitting a report within a day. From the preliminary investigation, it looks like the bridge collapsed due to imbalance in the shuttering process (which provides a framework) and the bridge could not take the weight.”
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Late Sunday evening, chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat instructed the chief secretary to investigate the cause of the bridge collapse, while describing the incident as tragic and unfortunate. He wished for the early recovery of the injured.
Local police officials said that the bridge is about 80m-long; half of it has been constructed while the remaining is under construction. On Sunday evening, 15 labourers were working on the bridge when the under-construction part collapsed suddenly. Except one of them, all were trapped under it.
RK Saklani, police inspector, Muni Ki Reti police station in Rishikesh, who was among the first to rush to the spot on Sunday said that during the initial probe, it seemed that the labourers were working in the dark with no proper lighting arrangement.
All those injured are being treated at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Rishikesh.
