Eighteen Workers, All From Bengal, Killed In Collapse Of Rail Bridge Under Construction In Mizoram

Eighteen workers were killed when an under-construction railway bridge collapsed in Mizoram Wednesday (August 23) morning. 

Many more are feared trapped under the debris. Around 40 workers were at the construction site when a span of the bridge at Sairang, about 20 kilometres west of state capital Aizawl, collapsed. 

All the 18 dead hailed from Malda district in Bengal.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw condoled the deaths and announced compensation of Rs 10 lakh to each bereaved family and Rs two lakh for the critically injured. 

The bridge is part of the 51.38 kilometre-long Bairabi Sairang Railway Line that will put Aizawl on the rail map of India. The Rs 5,021.45 crore project involved construction of 23 tunnels and 130 bridges and is slated to be ready by this year-end. 

Chief Public Relations Officer of Northeast Frontier Railway Sabyasachi De said: “The bridge that collapsed was part of an Indian Railways project to connect all state capitals in the northeast region. It has been under construction for some years now. The incident happened around 11am. We are yet to ascertain the reason behind the accident and how many people actually were on it when it occurred”. 

The bridge is being constructed over Kurung river and is located between Bairabi and Sairang railway stations. The height of the pier of the bridge is 104mts. Sairang railway station is set to be the last railhead before reaching Mizoram’s capital. 

Prime Minister Modi, who is attending the BRICS Summit in South Africa, condoled the deaths and announced a solatium of Rs two lakh to each bereaved family from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. 

The Indian Railways plans to extend the rail line from Sairang to Zorinpui on the India-Myanmar border to provide connectivity to the ambitious Kaladan Multi-Modal Transport Project.