HAMPI: The two-way cable-stayed bridge across river Tungabhadra, linking the world famous Hampi with Anegundi, which was under construction, collapsed on Thursday afternoon. At least six labourers, working at the spot at the time, are feared to have drowned and thirty-five are injured.
Work for laying concrete for the portion in the middle of the bridge was under way when the accident took place. The labourers had just returned to work after the lunch break when a major section of the bridge on the Anegundi side and one part on the Hampi side collapsed. Some of the injuries sustained by the labourers are said to be serious. Some of them swam to safety while others were ferried to safety by the coracle operators who were nearby.
The cables on the Anegundi side of the bridge have been broken and one of the pylons has developed cracks. Whether the cables already laid had become weak and could not withstand the weight of the iron scaffoldings, or whether the collapse was caused by some other cause has not been ascertained yet. A rescue team from the Fire and Emergency Services, had not recovered any body till 8 p.m.
“After having our lunch we came back to work. Suddenly we heard a sound and a jerk. Within a fraction of a second, the bridge collapsed,” Suryababu, one of the labourers, told The Hindu.
According to him, more than 35 workers were on top of the bridge and most of them were safe and were shifted to hospitals at Hospet and Gangavati for treatment.
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