6 Killed, 3 Trapped As Under-Construction Bridge Collapses In UP During Storm

At least six workers were killed after an under-construction bridge collapsed during a late-night storm in Uttar Pradesh's Hamirpur district on Thursday. The death count is feared to rise to eight.

The bridge, which stretches from Morakandar to Kandaur village, was being built over the Betwa River. The incident took place late at night, around 2 am, when the work was underway at the bridge. Some workers were standing under a hydra machine amid rain.

The tragedy unfolded amidst heavy rain and a storm, raising questions regarding safety measures at the construction site.

"We reached the spot immediately after receiving the information around 2 am last night that a slab had collapsed and some people were trapped beneath it," Arvind Kumar Verma, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Hamirpur told reporters. "SDRF is here, and rescue operations are underway," he added.

According to the locals, work was underway at the bridge when a storm hit the village. At first, segments of the bridge broke followed by supporting pillars crashing down.

"Around midnight last night, a very strong storm hit. We all woke up. A bridge was being built about 400 meters from my village. Work was going on through the night. Due to the storm, the segments broke and fell. Consequently, the support pillars also broke, and all the segments collapsed. Two of our guards, who were protecting the bridge, were crushed and died. There is an estimate of four labourers involved--two have been accounted for, and two are believed to be trapped. It appears this accident was caused by the storm," a local resident told news agency ANI.

The youngest victim has been identified as 19-year-old Kuldeep Nishad from Chilla village in Uttar Pradesh's Banda district.

The six victims have been identified as:

1. Lokendra, 22-year-old son of Radheshyam Nishad and resident of Chilla
2. Kuldeep Nishad, 19-year-old son of Premchand
3. Sawant Yadav, 28-year-old tesident of Bhuragarh
4. Sabhajit, 30, from Bhuragarh in Banda
5. Pushpendra Singh Chauhan, 34-year-old son of Rajendra Singh, and a resident of Swasa Khurd
6. Rajesh Pal, 42, from Achpura

Two bodies have been retrieved, while four are still trapped.

Three others who were stranded on the pillar have been identified as Awadhesh Nishad, Kallu Yadav, and Rajesh Nishad.

"Two more labourers have been rescued while one is still stranded and efforts are on to rescue him," Rajesh Kamal, Circle Officer, Hamirpur told NDTV.

(With inputs from Ravindra)