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Monday, Oct 20, 2008
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2 killed, many injured as railway bridge collapses

Ashok Kumar

A launcher and concrete slabs came crashing down during work on the under-construction bridge

— Photo: R.V. Moorthy

WHERE LIES THE FAULT?: The scene at Laxmi Nagar in New Delhi on Sunday after the collapse.

NEW DELHI: A 34-metre stretch of an under-construction bridge of the Delhi metro railway collapsed at Laxmi Nagar here on Sunday, killing two persons on the spot and injuring over a dozen. Six vehicles, including three cars, were damaged.

The dead have been identified as Surender Kumar (28), a Blueline bus driver, and Chotte Lal (25), a labourer. The condition of two of the injured is said to be serious.

A launcher, a huge iron girder, and some concrete slabs came crashing down around 7 a.m. when a slab was being lifted to construct the elevated span between Laxmi Nagar and Nirman Vihar.

“The launcher fell on one side of the road and the segments on the other, trapping a Blueline bus, three cars and two trailers,” said Delhi Metro Rail Corporation spokesperson Anuj Dayal.

Besides several labourers who were engaged in the construction work, passengers of the Blueline bus and a passer-by were trapped under the debris. Though the passengers were pulled out even before the police and ambulances arrived, the bus driver died on the spot.

Mr. Dayal said a mechanical failure in the lining of the launcher may have caused the accident.

DMRC Managing Director E. Sreedharan has ordered a high-level technical probe into the incident.

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