A race against time is underway in India where dozens of people are feared trapped in the rubble of a collapsed flyover. Using whatever tools they
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A race against time is underway in India where dozens of people are feared trapped in the rubble of a collapsed flyover.
Using whatever tools they have, hundreds of rescuers are frantically seeking survivors in the city of Kolkata, in an operation now led by the army.
At least 20 people are known to have died when the concrete bridge, still under construction, crashed down in a busy commercial district on Thursday.
The terrifying moment it happened was captured on CCTV. Video footage aired on TV channels showed a street scene with two auto rickshaws and a crowd of people suddenly obliterated by a mass of falling concrete that narrowly missed cars crawling in a traffic jam.
Nearly 100 people were injured, many with multiple fractures and in a serious condition.
The cause of the tragedy is unknown but India is no stranger to building collapses.
Indian company IVRCL, the firm leading the construction project, insists it did not use substandard materials.
“We did not use any inferior quality material and we will cooperate with the investigators,” IVRCL’s director of operations, A.G. K. Murthy told reporters in Hyderabad where the firm is based.
“We are in a state of shock.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, currently visiting the United States, expressed his grief and shock on Twitter.
Shocked & saddened by collapse of under construction flyover in Kolkata. Took stock of the situation & rescue operations.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 31 mars 2016
My thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in Kolkata. May the injured recover at the earliest.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) 31 mars 2016