00:23:00
At least 21 people have been killed, 60 injured and many others
feared trapped after a highway overpass collapsed in the eastern Indian
city of Kolkata.
"Twelve dead bodies have been handed over to their families and three are awaiting final documentation. Six bodies are still unidentified," said AITC, the ruling party in the state of West Bengal, of which Kolkata is the capital.
About 80 metres of the overpass, which was under construction, collapsed on Thursday morning in a congested part of the central Burrabazar district, trapping vehicles and people underneath it.
"There was a deafening noise and there was dust all around, it went down in seconds," Mahesh Sarkar, a witness to the collapse, said.
Rescue operations continued into the night, with the army, police and disaster relief force cutting and sifting through mangled metal and concrete debris to find those still trapped.
"One girder seems to have fallen and then another collapsed," said KP Rao, spokesman for IVRCL, the construction company responsible for the overpass.
"This is a very serious incident," said Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal state.
"But our first priority is to rescue the trapped, treat the injured in hospital and console the families of those who have died," Banerjee said.
Six units of the National Disaster Response Force were rushed to the site and cranes were being used to lift debris. News footage showed mangled, half-burnt cars being lifted out from the rubble.
Many people had head and neck injuries, and several suffered burns when their vehicles caught fire, police said.
At least 30 engineers were working at the site.
"At least two of our engineers are missing," Rao said from IVRCL headquarters in Hyderabad.
The army has also been called in to help, said Banerjee, who called off an election rally to visit the site in the state capital. Around 400 army personnel including engineers and medical personnel were deployed, reports said.
Residents formed a human chain to keep onlookers back from rescue operations, reports said.
"Shocked and saddened by collapse of under construction flyover in Kolkata," Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on Twitter.
Construction on the overpass started in 2008 but had stopped and started several times amid apparent financial trouble suffered by IVCRL, according to an India Today report.
"Twelve dead bodies have been handed over to their families and three are awaiting final documentation. Six bodies are still unidentified," said AITC, the ruling party in the state of West Bengal, of which Kolkata is the capital.
About 80 metres of the overpass, which was under construction, collapsed on Thursday morning in a congested part of the central Burrabazar district, trapping vehicles and people underneath it.
"There was a deafening noise and there was dust all around, it went down in seconds," Mahesh Sarkar, a witness to the collapse, said.
Rescue operations continued into the night, with the army, police and disaster relief force cutting and sifting through mangled metal and concrete debris to find those still trapped.
"One girder seems to have fallen and then another collapsed," said KP Rao, spokesman for IVRCL, the construction company responsible for the overpass.
"This is a very serious incident," said Mamata Banerjee, chief minister of West Bengal state.
"But our first priority is to rescue the trapped, treat the injured in hospital and console the families of those who have died," Banerjee said.
Six units of the National Disaster Response Force were rushed to the site and cranes were being used to lift debris. News footage showed mangled, half-burnt cars being lifted out from the rubble.
Many people had head and neck injuries, and several suffered burns when their vehicles caught fire, police said.
At least 30 engineers were working at the site.
"At least two of our engineers are missing," Rao said from IVRCL headquarters in Hyderabad.
The army has also been called in to help, said Banerjee, who called off an election rally to visit the site in the state capital. Around 400 army personnel including engineers and medical personnel were deployed, reports said.
Residents formed a human chain to keep onlookers back from rescue operations, reports said.
"Shocked and saddened by collapse of under construction flyover in Kolkata," Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on Twitter.
Construction on the overpass started in 2008 but had stopped and started several times amid apparent financial trouble suffered by IVCRL, according to an India Today report.
Originally published as India overpass collapse kills 21
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