At least 17 construction workers were killed when a bridge across a ravine in Northeastern India’s Mizoram state collapsed, according to officials.
Several are are feared trapped.
Sairang is a town about 20km (12 miles) from Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram which lies in the far east of India, bordering Myanmar.
Local media stated that 35-40 personnel were there at the time of the event, while police confirmed only 28 were present, according to reports.
So far, rescue workers have recovered 13 bodies. Efforts are being made to recover the remaining bodies, a state police official stated
The tragedy occurred during work on the Bhairbi-Sairang New Line Railway Project, according to the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in a statement on X.
According to reports, the government would compensate 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,400) to the next of kin of those slain.
The government has started high-speed trains as part of its network modernization plans, but opponents claim it has not prioritized safety and replacing aging infrastructure.
At least 288 people were killed in June in India’s worst rail crash in more than two decades. It was blamed on signal failure.
Bridge collapses and other fatalities on huge infrastructure construction projects are also common in India.
A colonial-era suspension bridge collapsed in Morbi, Gujarat, killing 135.
In June, a suspension bridge under construction in Bihar, India’s poorest state, collapsed, killing one person.
