5 killed in New Delhi metro bridge collapse
NEW DELHI (AP) - One section of a concrete bridge being built for the Indian capital's metro rail system collapsed Sunday, crushing to death five workers and injuring 13, officials said.
Two of those injured are in serious condition, said Anuj Dayal, the spokesman for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation that is expanding the city's 6-year-old metro rail system.
He said three workers died at the accident site and two at the hospital. The accident happened early Sunday as workers lifted heavy concrete slabs for the bridge, police spokesman Mohammed Iqlaq said.
A partially built bridge, part of the city's new metro rail system, collapsed in New Delhi, India, Sunday. (AP Photo/Mustafa Quraishi)
Television footage and photographs showed one long concrete section, which would have carried the tracks, lying at an angle with one end on the ground and the other on top of a supporting pillar. The massive section had crushed metal beams beneath it.
Those killed and injured were laborers working on the bridge, Iqlaq said. He said the cause of the accident was not yet known. Rescue crews were still working to see if any others are trapped under the rubble, Iqlaq said.
The efficient metro rail system is the third mass urban transport system in the country and is the pride of New Delhi, a sprawling city of 14 million people and more than 3.2 million vehicles that navigate daily through chaotic traffic.
In October last year, two people were killed and at least 11 injured in a similar accident.
The metro currently has three lines covering 45 miles (75 kilometers), and authorities are rushing to complete several extensions totaling about 60 miles (100 kilometers) before the October 2010 Commonwealth Games.
Lima maut jejambat rel runtuh
BHARIAN / 13.07.2009
15 lagi cedera ketika kejadian kedua seumpama dalam tempoh 8 bulanNEW DELHI: Sekurang-kurangnya lima orang termasuk seorang jurutera maut dan 15 lain cedera apabila sebuah jejambat sistem rel baru New Delhi, 'Delhi Metro' yang sedang dalam pembinaan runtuh semalam, kejadian kedua seumpamanya dalam tempoh lapan bulan. Kemalangan berlaku apabila satu daripada tiangjejambat runtuh dan terkena penyokong jejambat yang dibina berhampiran Kolej Lady Sriram di Dhamrudpur, Lajpat Nagar kira-kira jam 5 pagi.
"Lima orang mati. Tiga daripada mereka adalah 15 pekerja yang dibawa ke Pusat Perubatan All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) dan dua yang lain masih terperangkap dalam runtuhan," kata jurucakap Perbadanan Delhi Metro (DMRC), Anuj Dayal kepada pemberita. Delhi Metro menyifatkan kemalangan itu sebagai "masalah dalam reka bentuk tiang". "Kami cuba mengenal pastinya. Ada kecacatan pada tiang yang menyebabkan salah letak," kata Dayal.
Tiga mangsa dikenal pasti sebagai Ansuman, jurutera tapak manakala dua lagi adalah pekerja binaan, Niranjan dan Badan Singh. Dua yang lain di AIIMS dilaporkan dalam keadaan kritikal. Jejambat terbabit adalah sebahagian koridor Pusat Sekretariat Badarpur Delhi Metro yang dijangka siap September 2010. "Kejadian berlaku antara tiang 66 dan 67 apabila penutup tiang didapati mengalami kecacatan. Sebanyak 10 segmen sudah dibina di kawasan terbabit dengan lima daripadanya sudah siap. Apabila bahagian ketujuh mempunyai kesilapan, ia runtuh berikutan ketidakseimbangan pada bahagian jejambat yang menyebabkan keruntuhan," kata Dayal. Seramai 30 pekerja Gammon India Ltd, kontraktor DMRC berada di kawasan pembinaan. Kebanyakan mereka yang cedera dibawa ke hospital Moolchand berhampiran dan Safdurjang. – Agensi