Varanasi flyover collapsed due to a thunderstorm, says official

Varanasi: The under-construction flyover at Varanasi's Cantonment area collapsed due to the recent storm that struck the region a few days ago, weakening its structure, an official said on Wednesday.

R. Mittal, the Managing Director (MD) of Bridge Corporation said, "We think the lock of the bearing underneath the beam broke due to the recent thunderstorms that struck in the region, which led to the accident. The traffic should have been diverted away from the construction site. We should all learn from this incident."

Stressing on the need to ensure such incidents do not occur again, he added, "At all other project sites, we will ensure the traffic in the area is diverted away from the site. We have made special teams comprising of six to seven people to identify all the sites and if there are any security lapses at those sites."

Meanwhile, a forensic team investigated the spot of the incident in Varanasi.

At least 18 people were killed and 11 critically injured when a massive slab of a flyover under-construction in Varanasi's Cantt area came down after two pillars collapsed, crushing on cars and a local bus underneath.

The police have registered an FIR over Tuesday's flyover collapse against officials of the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation Ltd, a government-run entity that has faced criticism also in the past over the standard of its work. See also p6