At least 18 workers, mostly from statedie as under- construction railway bridge collapses in Mizoram

Mamata condoles deaths, offers assistance to Mizoram govt in rescue operations 

PTI, AIZAWL, 23 August 2023 : At least 18 workers, most of them hailing from West Bengal, were killed and five others went missing after a 100-metre tall under-construction railway bridge collapsed in Mizoram's Aizawl district on Wednesday, police said. 

Three persons were injured in the incident that occurred around 10 am in Sairang area, about 21 km from the state capital Aizawl. 

Twelve bodies were identified as those of workers of West Bengal, an official said in Aizawl. Most of the victims are from Pukuria, English Bazar and Manikchak in West Bengal's Malda district, a senior official of the eastern state said. 

Condoling the deaths of the workers from West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in Kolkata that arrangements have been made to bring their bodies to the state. 

"Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the debris so far, while two others are yet to be retrieved. Five workers are reported missing," IGP (Law & Order) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said. Rescue and relief efforts are underway, Khiangte said. Mamata said she has instructed officials to coordinate with the Mizoram government for assistance in the rescue operation. 

The Railways said the accident was due to the collapse of a gantry, which was being launched on the under- construction bridge over Kurung river. 

A high-level committee has been constituted to probe the incident involving the under-construction bridge, one of the 130 bridges in the Bhairavi-Sairang New Railway Line project. 

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the family members of the deceased and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the victims.