Badrinath National Highway: Part of under-construction bridge collapses

Rudraprayag, July 18 (PTI) A part of an under-construction bridge on the Badrinath National Highway collapsed on Thursday, officials said.

There was no loss of life in the incident that occurred in the Narkota area near Rudraprayag, they said.

The frame of the bridge was being made by joining iron angles, when it suddenly collapsed around 4 pm, they said.

Some labourers working nearby had a narrow escape as they ran away when they realised that the frame was going to collapse, an official said.

National Highway Executive Engineer Tanuj Kamboj said a part of the frame of the under-construction bridge has collapsed.

Being built at a cost of about Rs 67 crore under the Chardham Road Project, the bridge has been under construction for the last three years.

Fortunately, when the frame of the bridge collapsed, there were no workers there, due to which loss of life was averted in the incident, the official said.

Iron rods had fallen while preparing the foundation of the bridge two years ago. The reasons for the incident are being investigated, he said.

The bridge is being constructed by a private company.

District Disaster Management Officer of Rudraprayag Nandan Singh Rajwar said that as soon as the information about the collapse of a part of the bridge was received, the disaster management team reached the spot and obtained information from the project manager of the RCC company Rupesh Mishra.

He said the disaster management team also conducted a search operation at the site of the incident but there was no loss of life in the accident. PTI