Part of under-construction bridge collapses in UP following storm, six labourers killed

The incident occurred over the Betwa river at 3 am while laborers were asleep on a concrete slab; IMD had issued severe weather alerts a evening prior

Hamirpur (UP):  Six labourers were killed and three others injured after part of an under-construction bridge collapsed following a storm over the Betwa river in Uttar Pradesh’s Hamirpur district early Friday, officials said.

The incident occurred around 3 am between Parsani and Kandaur villages when several labourers engaged in the bridge construction work were sleeping on the upper portion of a slab when it suddenly gave way, they said.

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Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident and directed officials to ensure proper treatment of the injured.

Hamirpur District Magistrate Abhishek Goyal told reporters that the bridge construction work was being carried out by a private company and the project had been underway for the last two years.

He said all safety arrangements for labourers had been made at the site.

Goyal said the India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the district administration had issued warnings on Thursday evening regarding strong winds, storms and rainfall.

Announcements were made in villages to alert residents and workers about the adverse weather conditions, he said.

The deceased were identified as Lokendra (22), Kuldeep Nishad (19), Sawant Yadav (28) and Sabhajeet (30), Pushpendra Chauhan (34), and Rajesh Pal (42), police said.

Three labourers were trapped under a pillar and later rescued. The injured were admitted to the district hospital in Hamirpur.

While describing the loss of lives as “extremely heartbreaking and heart-rending,” Adityanath said on X that instructions had been issued to the district administration to carry out relief and rescue operations swiftly.

According to government officials, the chief minister also announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

Station House Officer (SHO) of Lalpura police station Rajesh Kumar Saroj said the bodies have been sent for postmortem and debris removal work was underway to ensure no other worker remained trapped under the rubble.