Under-construction Metro bridge collapses in Delhi, 5 killed

New Delhi, Jul 12 (PTI) Five persons, including an
engineer, were killed and 15 others injured when an
under-construction over-bridge of the Delhi Metro collapsed
here in India's national capital Sunday, in the second such
incident in eight months.

The accident took place as one of the pillars of the
bridge gave in when a launcher was being erected close to Lady
Sriram College in Dhamrudpur in Lajpat Nagar at around 5 am
IST.

"Three persons were brought dead to the hospital. Two
persons who were trapped in the debris also died. Fifteen
others were injured," Delhi Metro spokesperson Anuj Dayal told
reporters here.

Among the dead were four labourers and an engineer of
Gammon India, the contractor for the project. The engineer has
been identified as Anshuman while the names of the other
deceased are yet to be released.

The Delhi Metro attributed the accident to a "problem
in the design" of the pillar. "We were trying to rectify it.
There was a defect in the peer cap which caused the
displacement," Dayal said.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit termed the incident as
"unfortunate" and said a compensation package will be worked
out in consultation with the Delhi Metro.

In a similar incident in October last year, two
persons were killed and 16 others injured when a portion of an
under-construction bridge of the Metro collapsed and fell on a
bus on Vikas Marg in Lakshmi Nagar area in east Delhi.

The accident also caused flooding in the area as the
pillar fell on a water pipeline which burst. This led to
diversion of traffic. Electricity supply was also disconnected
during the rescue operations.

Delhi Jal Board officials said water supply in the
area will be restored only by Monday as they were yet to
identify the spot where the pipeline was damaged.

Dayal said the removal of debris from the road is
progressing on a fast pace and traffic will be restored by
tomorrow morning. A helpline -- 011-23414461 -- has also been
set up to provide information regarding the accident, he said.

A labourer said around 30 people were working at spot
at the time of incident. "Some problem was there with the
support system and it could not handle the load, leading to
the collapse," he said.

Another labourer, who had a narrow escape, said, "I
was standing on the peer and something hit me and I was down."

A local said he heard a big sound at around 5 am IST
and he thought it was either a bomb blast or an earthquake.
"First I thought it was a blast or something like an
earthquake. I rushed outside only to see the bridge had
collapsed," he said.

Kuldeep, another resident, claimed that locals had
seen two cracks on the pillars earlier and had informed the
authorities, but no action was taken.

Metro officials said 15 people were taken to the AIIMS
Trauma Centre, where doctors said three were brought dead.
"Out of the others, the condition of two is serious while one
is undergoing a surgery," they said.

Two persons were rushed to the Moolchand hospital. One
of them has been discharged.

Meanwhile, Delhi Police registered a case under
Section 304-A (causing death due to negligence) of Indian
Penal Code. "A case has been registered. No names have been
mentioned in the FIR," a senior police official said.

Sunday's mishap was the second major accident at a
Metro site after the bridge collapse in Lakshmi Nagar on
October 19 last year.

A day after that incident, Delhi Metro had dismissed
an Assistant Engineer, suspended another Junior Engineer and
imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Afcons, the contractor. PTI