27 injured after under-construction bridge collapses in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba

The condition of two of the injured is stated to be "critical" and they have been referred to the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu for specialised treatment.

New Delhi: At least 27 people were injured after an iron shuttering over an under-construction bridge collapsed in the Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir on Sunday (January 2, 2022).

According to the officials, the major bridge is being constructed by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) over the Devika river at Ramgarh-Koulpur.

The iron shuttering connecting two of many pillars caved in around 4.15 pm and injured a total of 27 labourers, the officials said.

A rescue operation was immediately launched and all the injured were evacuated to different hospitals, the officials said, adding that the condition of two of them was stated to be "critical" and were referred to the Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu for specialised treatment.

"The iron shuttering collapsed during the laying of concrete slab. A rescue operation was immediately launched and all the 27 labourers were evacuated to nearby hospitals," Deputy Commissioner, Samba, Anuradha Gupta, said after rushing to the scene of the accident to supervise the rescue operation. 

She later also enquired about the condition of the injured undergoing treatment at Community Health Centre Ramgarh and trauma centre Vijaypur.

"Our priority was the rescue operation... An inquiry will be conducted on Monday to look into the cause of the accident," the deputy commissioner added.

(With agency inputs)