At least 17 dead in bridge collapse in India

At least 26 people have died after a gantry at a railway bridge that was under construction collapsed in India.

Several more are feared dead and multiple other people were injured, police said.

The collapse happened in Sairang, a town about 12 miles (20km) from the state capital Aizawl in Mizoram state in the north-eastern part of the country.

Those who died are believed to have been working on the site. About 40 workers were in the area at the time of the collapse.

People living nearby rescued injured workers and rushed them to hospital, police said. Rescuers from the government-run National Disaster Response Force also rushed to the scene to search for survivors.

Rail authorities are investigating the cause of the collapse.

The bridge has been under construction for two years.

“Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being given to those affected,” India’s prime minister Narendra Modi said on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Deeply saddened and affected by this tragedy. I extend my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured,” the chief minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga said.

“Sending gratitude to the people who have come out in large numbers to help with rescue operations.”

India‘s transport infrastructure has long been marred by safety concerns, sometimes leading to major disasters on its highways and bridges.

In October last year, a century-old cable suspension bridge collapsed into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat, sending hundreds plunging into the water and killing at least 132 in one of the worst accidents in the country in the past decade.

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