Two killed, several injured after portion of under-construction bridge collapses in West Bengal's Malda

An under-construction bridge in West Bengal's Malda collapsed today (February 16) leaving at least two dead and five others injured. 

In the first phase of rescue operations, seven people were taken out of which two succumbed to their injuries while the others are undergoing treatment at Malda Medical College and Hospital. The deceased have been identified as workers who were working on the project. 

A team of the Disaster Management and Police officials are at the incident spot. The disaster management group and the police are trying to rescue people from under the rubble but as it gets dark the rescue operations at the spot is affected.

According to police, at least seven to eight people are still feared to be trapped under the debris. The people trapped are engineers, senior officials and workers who were working on the site. 

As per initial reports, a portion of the bridge which is still under-construction collapsed after a girder started bending. The construction of the bridge was a project undertaken by the NHAI.

(This is a developing story, more details awaited)