The Hindu : Front Page : Bridge at Hampi collapses, six feared dead, 35 injured

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Bridge at Hampi collapses, six feared dead, 35 injured

Staff Correspondent

The two-way cable-stayed structure across Tungabhadra crumbles

DAMAGE: The portion of the bridge that collapsed near Hampi on Thursday.

HAMPI: The two-way cable-stayed bridge across river Tungabhadra, linking the world famous Hampi with Anegundi, which was under construction, collapsed on Thursday afternoon. At least six labourers, working at the spot at the time, feared to have drowned and thirty-five are injured.

Work for laying concrete for the portion in the middle of the bridge was under way when the accident took place. The labourers had just returned to work after the lunch break when a major section of the bridge on the Anegundi side and one part on the Hampi side collapsed. Some of the injuries sustained by the labourers are said to be serious. Some of them swam to safety while others were ferried to safety by the coracle operators who were nearby.

The cables on the Anegundi side of the bridge have been broken and one of the pylons has developed cracks. Whether the cables already laid had become weak and could not withstand the weight of the iron scaffoldings, or whether the collapse was caused by some other cause has not been ascertained yet. A rescue team from the Fire and Emergency Services, had not recovered any body till 8 p.m.

“After having our lunch we came back to work. Suddenly we heard a sound and a jerk. Within a fraction of a second, the bridge collapsed,” Suryababu, one of the labourers, told The Hindu.

According to him, more than 35 workers were on top of the bridge and most of them were safe and were shifted to hospitals at Hospet and Gangavati for treatment.

The Veerappa Moily government had decided to construct the bridge to link the two historically important places — Hampi and Anegundi —of the Vijayanagar period. People were crossing the river using coracles. About 80 per cent of the work on the bridge was completed in 1999. Only a span of about 24 m of concrete had to be laid when the work was suspended following objections from United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The organisation said the modern bridge did not complement the World Heritage site. By then the State Government had spent around Rs. 4.75 crore.

After much persuasion and corrective measures undertaken by the authorities, UNESCO permitted the completion of the bridge. The State Government released an additional Rs. 6.33 crore for replacing the cables and laying concrete for the remaining work.

Work resumes

On November 1, 2008, work started and was going on in full swing. The suspended iron scaffolding was laid between the two stretches and concrete was being laid when the accident occurred.

B. Sriramulu, Minister for Health, along with Deputy Commissioner B. Shivappa and Superintendent of Police Seemant Kumar Singh, rushed to the spot and supervised the rescue operations.

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