15 dead, 100 trapped in Indian bridge collapse

At least 15 people have been reported dead, with about 100 others missing and injured in the collapse of a bridge in North Kolkata in India.

The bridge, which was billed for a 2012 completion, was still under construction at the time of its collapse on Thursday, following financial troubles by the implementing agency.

Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal chief minister, has arrived at the flyover collapse site located in a densely populated locality in BurraBazar, Indian Express is reporting.

Kolkata Police told the news outfit that more than 30 people had been rushed to hospitals and many more are yet to be rescued, while several others are still trapped under the debris.

Rescue operations are currently underway and witnesses at the site feared at least a 100 people could be trapped under debris, as the Indian army and other security agencies were working to save lives.

Witnesses told the media that they heard “a loud explosion and then a crashing sound,” with “a cloud of smoke emerging from the collapse”.

The bridge is a 2.5KM flyover planned as part of the Jawaharlal Nehru national urban renewal mission, with expectations to ease congestion in the Burrabazar.

The project’s foundation was laid in 2008, but proper construction only began in February 2009.