Seven people were injured when a part of a bridge under construction collapsed in Bihar’s Vaishali district on Thursday but no deaths have been reported so far, police said.
The incident took place in Lalganj, where bridge construction work was underway as part of the Bharatmala project. The collapse was suspected to have occurred due to a technical fault while construction material was being loaded with a girder launcher, police said.
Vaishali Superintendent of Police Shubhank Mishra said three of the injured were rushed to Sadar Hospital. Four other people suffered minor injuries, police said.
One worker’s leg was crushed in the incident and rescuers had to use machinery to free him, police said. Authorities said a thorough investigation would determine the precise cause and sequence of events.
The bridge is a part of the four-lane project of National Highway-139W being developed under the Bharatmala programme. Local police and officials were on the scene after the collapse.
The incident has also attracted political criticism. Bihar opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav has accused the state government of using substandard construction material and not doing proper safety audits, claims that have not been independently verified.
