- A bailey bridge collapsed in Himachal's Kinnaur district on National Highway 5
- A truck fell into the Sutlej river after the bridge gave way near Urni Dhank
- The truck driver escaped with minor injuries, officials reported
A 190-foot-long bailey bridge collapsed in Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, and a truck crossing it fell into the Sutlej river even as its driver escaped with minor injuries on Tuesday, officials said.
The incident occurred between Reckong and Tapri on National Highway 5 (Old Hindustan-Tibet Road) near Urni Dhank when the truck was passing the bridge.
The bridge gave way when the 10-tire dumper truck loaded with sand was about to reach the other side. The vehicle was overloaded, officials said.
The road connects Lahaul and Spiti with Kinnaur district. Following the collapse, vehicular traffic was disrupted for some time, causing inconvenience to commuters. As a result, vehicles were diverted via alternate routes, according to officials.
SP Sushil Sharma said a police team led by Tapri SHO rushed to the spot following which the driver of the truck was rescued and sent to nearby a hospital. He sustained minor injuries.
The Kinnaur administration has instructed the National Highway authorities to restore the bridge at the earliest.
As Urni Dhank is one of the most landslide-prone areas and is frequently blocked due to landslides and the falling of heavy debris and rocks from the mountains, an alternative route was created in 2016 by constructing this bridge.
Work on the construction of a tunnel is also currently underway to permanently secure this landslide-prone stretch and minimise the impact of natural disasters on traffic in the future, according to officials.
Executive Engineer of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Rampur Division, K L Suman said the bridge was being regularly monitored and maintained, and repairs had been carried out as recently as June 5.
According to him, the bailey bridge had a designated load capacity of 28 tonnes, whereas the 10-tyre dumper crossing it at the time of the accident might have been carrying a load exceeding that limit.
The exact cause of the bridge collapse will become clear only after the investigation is completed, he said.
A team comprising police personnel and technical experts is investigating the matter.
He said that despite the incident, traffic on National Highway 5 has not been completely disrupted, as the old route was immediately restored.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
