Delhi Man Falls Into Ganga From Rishikesh Bridge, Search On

A 31-year-old man from New Delhi allegedly fell into the Ganga river from Bajrang Bridge, an under-construction transparent glass floor bridge, and went missing in Rishikesh, officials said on Friday.

Inspector-in-charge of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Kavindra Sajwan, said the accident occurred at 10.15 pm on Thursday when Hemant Soni, a resident of Hauz Khas, fell into the river from the bridge.

Sajwan said Soni's two friends -- Amit Soni and Akshat Seth -- immediately informed police, following which a search operation was launched that very night. However, he said, Soni has not been located yet.

The police officer stated that for public safety, there was a proper system in place to block traffic at both ends of the bridge, but these three people crossed it and went onto the bridge.

He explained that work was underway to lay transparent glass plates on the bridge floor, and it is difficult to determine at night whether the plates are laid after the next step.

Soni might have made this mistake at night, he said.

The Bajrang Bridge is being built parallel to the ancient Lakshman Jhula here. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)