Tragedy befalls Delhi Metro

Two killed, 15 injured as portion of the bridge collapses at Vikas Marg

NEW DELHI: A portion of an under-construction bridge of the Delhi Metro project collapsed on Sunday killing two people and injuring 15.

The 150m section of the bridge came crashing down at Vikas Marg, in Laxmi Nagar, east Delhi, around 7am, trapping a passenger-filled Blueline bus and several cars and motorbikes under it.

The injured were admitted to the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash and Lal Bahadur Shashtri hospitals, both government hospitals, while a few have also been admitted at private hospitals nearby.

The incident occurred when DMRC construction workers were lifting a 400-tonne concrete span of the Metro rail bridge with a gigantic crane. The launching system developed a snag following which the crane lost control and the 34-m long span fell on a moving Blueline bus, claiming two lives, including that of bus driver Surendra Kumar (30), said Metro workers.

“I narrowly escaped the accident,” said Suhit Kumar, a resident of the area.
“I usually go for my morning walk on this road. Today, when I was returning home, I saw this huge concrete block falling off from the crane. The impact was like that of an earthquake. And for a few minutes, I just didn’t understand what happened. Then there was panic in the area and everyone rushed to the rubble. A bus and some other cars were completely crushed,” he added.

Two trailers, being used to launch the span, and two cars were also damaged in the mishap, which blocked the two-way traffic on Vikas Marg for several hours. A hydraulic crane was later called in to lift the rubble and clear the route.

Vikas Marg is usually one of the busiest roads since it is also the main road that connects east Delhi to central part of the city. On a regular day, the road has heavy traffic with school buses and office goers. Locals said the casualty could have been higher had it been a regular working day.

Meanwhile, authorities have called in experts from Japan and Europe to analyse the loopholes and suggest corrective measures in safety standards to be practiced while constructing the metro. The DMRC has also started a high-level inquiry into the incident.

This is the third metro-construction related accident in last four months. In July, four persons travelling in a Tavera escaped death, but were seriously injured when a heavy iron girder being lifted by a crane at the metro construction site near Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital came crashing on the car. Two days later, a 5’2” long wide iron angle from the metro’s barricade pierced through a man.