16 dead, others feared trapped after bridge collapses in India

 At least 16 bodies have been recovered from the debris of a flyover that collapsed in the Indian temple town of Varanasi on Tuesday.

Several people were feared trapped, and the death toll could rise, Varanasi District Magistrate, Y.N. Mishra, said.

Four people had been rescued so far, Mishra added.

The flyover was under construction and part of it collapsed during busy evening traffic, with big slabs of concrete crushing the vehicles travelling on the road below, an official at the Varanasi police control room said.

Six teams belonging to the National Disaster Response Force were at the site helping with rescue operations, Local Police Officer, Dinesh Singh, said.

“Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon,” Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, posted on Twitter.

Modi represents Varanasi parliamentary constituency.

Collapses of under construction structures are not uncommon in India.

Twenty-seven people died in a similar collapse of a flyover being built in Kolkata in April 2016.

Across the country, 1,885 people died in building, bridge and other structural collapses in 2016, according to the latest-available government data.

NAN

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