A railway bridge being constructed across a ravine in India’s eastern Mizoram state on Wednesday collapsed, killing at least 17 workers and leaving others missing.
Mizoram’s chief minister, Zoramthanga, shared video online showing a metal frame that had fallen from a building’s columns and crashed into a wooded valley below.
“Under construction railway over bridge at Sairang, near Aizawl collapsed today; at least 17 workers died,” Zoramthanga, who uses only one name, said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
According to the Indian Express, a police officer said 17 dead had been found and “many others” were still missing. Reports of missing people could not be confirmed right away.
“Rescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being given to those affected,” the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
Modi was “pained” by the accident and offered his “condolences to those who have lost their loved ones”, his office said on X.
The government would reportedly give about $2,400 to each victim’s next of kin.
