Seven workers hurt as under-construction bridge gives way in Bihar's Vaishali

Seven workers were injured on Thursday when an under-construction bridge in Bihar's Vaishali district collapsed, police said. Three of them were shifted to Sadar Hospital, according to Vaishali Superintendent of Police Shubhank Mishra.

No deaths have been reported so far. Four of the injured suffered minor injuries, police said.

The bridge is being built as part of the Bharatmala project. According to the police, the collapse is suspected to have been triggered by a technical fault while material was being loaded with the help of a girder launcher.

One worker's leg was crushed in the incident, and a machine had to be used to free him, police said. The precise cause of the accident and the sequence of events will be established only after a detailed investigation, they added.

Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav criticised the state government over the incident. In a post on X, he blamed substandard construction material, irregularities in safety audits and what he described as the corrupt character of NDA leaders, and alleged that the government would now focus on a cover-up.

The collapse comes four months after a portion of the Vikramshila Bridge over the Ganga — which links Bhagalpur and Mavgachhia, and the Seemanchal region with the Kosi belt — caved in on May 4.

In 2024, ten bridges collapsed across Bihar within a fortnight, after which the government suspended 15 engineers from the water resources and rural works departments for alleged negligence.