(UnitedVoice.com) – India’s infrastructure is shot. Multiple bridges have collapsed in the country of 1.4 billion people. Most recently, more than two dozen people died after a railway bridge fell.
On August 23, a railway bridge that was under construction collapsed near the town of Sairang, about 12 miles away from the state’s capital Aizawl. The town is located in the state of Mizoram in northeastern India. The bridge has been under construction for two years and was suspended over the Kurung River. Authorities believe as many as 40 people were working on the structure at the time of its partial collapse. Three people were rescued as of August 24. Sadly, the death toll has reached 26.
In a statement to the press, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office said assistance is being given to those who were impacted by the accident. The government intends to pay 200,000 rupees ($2,400 USD) to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident.
Mizoram Home Minister Lalchamliana said, “Words cannot express the depth of sorrow and sympathy” for those who lost loved ones in the accident.
The accident came just months after a suspension bridge that was being built in the Bhagalpur district in the country’s eastern state of Bihar collapsed. The bridge was being built over the River Ganges, and it was the second time it had failed in 14 months. One person was reported missing in the immediate aftermath of the second accident.
In October 2022, a bridge collapsed in Morbi, in the state of Gujarat. At least 141 people died in the collapse, many of them were women and children. The bridge had just reopened the week before it fell into the river below. Officials said there was overcrowding on the bridge at the time of the collapse because people were celebrating the Diwali festival. An eyewitness told the press that many kids were on it and enjoying the holiday when it suddenly fell.
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