18 killed after under-construction railway bridge collapses in mizoram
Rly ex-gratia compensation of Rs 10 lakh for kin of dead, Rs 50K for minor injuries
Aizawl, Aug 23: At least 18 workers were killed and five others missing after an 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 state-capital Aizawl, they said.
Most of the victims are believed to be from Pukuria, English Bazar and Manikchak in West Bengal's Malda district, a senior official of the eastern state said.
"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, he said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee 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.
"Pained by the bridge mishap in Mizoram. Condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being given to those affected.
"An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. Rs. 50,000 would be given to the injured," the Prime Minister's Office said on X.
Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga said he was deeply saddened over the loss of lives in the incident, and expressed gratitude to all those who helped in the rescue operation.
"Under construction railway over bridge at Sairang, near Aizawl collapsed today; at least 17 workers died: Rescue under progress. Deeply saddened and affected by this tragedy. I extend my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured. Sending gratitude to the people who have come out in large numbers to help with rescue operations," he posted on X.
Earlier, Banerjee expressed "shock" over the bridge collapse, and said compensation for the families of the victims would soon be announced.
"Shocked to learn about the tragic collapse today of an under-construction railway bridge in Mizoram, leading to loss of lives of several site workers, including some belonging to our Malda district," she wrote on X.
"Have instructed my chief secretary to coordinate with Mizoram administration at once for rescue/assistance operations. Malda district administration has been asked to reach out to the bereaved families for extending all possible help. We shall give due compensation asap to the next of kin of the affected families. Solidarity to the distressed, condolences to the families of the deceased. Situation under watch," Banerjee added.
Meanwhile, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the workers.
He also announced an ex gratia compensation of Rs 50,000 for those who suffered minor injuries.
Grieved by the unfortunate incident in Mizoram. NDRF, state administration and railway officials are at the site. Rescue operation on war footing.
— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) August 23, 2023
Ex-gratia compensation:
₹10 Lakh in case of death,
₹2 Lakh towards grievous and ₹50,000 for minor injuries.
Under construction railway over bridge at Sairang, near Aizawl collapsed today; atleast 17 workers died: Rescue under progress.
— Zoramthanga (@ZoramthangaCM) August 23, 2023
Deeply saddened and affected by this tragedy. I extend my deepest condolences to all the bereaved families and wishing a speedy recovery to the… pic.twitter.com/IbmjtHSPT7
VIDEO | At least 17 workers were killed and several others feared trapped after an under-construction railway bridge collapsed near Sairang area of Mizoram, earlier today.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2023
READ: https://t.co/a81kMfQ8Dk
(Source: Third Party) pic.twitter.com/woapGC2yaD
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
