4 SEPT. 2018 | 09:40 HRS GMT | KOLKATA, INDIA
KOLKATA – A portion of the busy Majerhat bridge on Diamond Harbour Road collapsed on Tuesday in Kolkata, killing one and injuring 19, authorities said, as rescue workers continue to search through the debris checking for other casualties.
Cars were seen among the rubble and a large portion of the bridge was destroyed.
The chief minister of West Bengal state, confirmed that one person was killed, adding, “19 people have received injuries”. All of them are in stable condition.
The West Bengal state’s ruling party, said on Twitter the bridge was 40 years old and there were no more immediate details of the cause of the collapse. However, an inquiry has been ordered to find out the root cause of collapse.
The governor of the state eloborated that “The bridge deserved better maintenance,” and “The matter requires through investigation.”
In a similar incident in March 2016, a bridge collapsed in the city, killing more than a dozens of innocent people due state negligence, bid of corruption, use of spurious material and lack of better maintenance of public property.