At least eight workers were feared killed and 36 others injured when a portion of the under-construction cable-stayed bridge connecting the world heritage site Hampi with another tourist hub Anegundi, collapsed on Thursday at around 3.30 pm.
While Bellary superintendent of police Seemant Kumar Singh claimed that only three workers were missing from the accident site, locals claimed that eight bodies were fished out of the Tungabhadra river, across which the bridge was being built, during the rescue operations.
Four severely injured persons including a site engineer were rushed to the Hubli and Bellary hospitals.
Co-workers said their colleagues Rasul, Bharath, mechanic Patel and Bheemappa were missing.
The workers included a few labourers from Bihar as well. According to officials, only 40 labourers were at the worksite, which usually employed around 70 people, when the mishap occurred.
The construction of the bridge had been suspended for nine years due to objections from environmental agencies, heritage experts and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
They feared that the construction might cause damage to the world heritage site. Work on the bridge finally resumed on November 10, 2008 after UNESCO gave a go ahead to it.
The locals said the structure collapsed when workers on it lost balance and fell into the river below.The rescue operation could begin only in the evening and has been marred by lack of visibility and darkness. The district administration and locals, however, continued with their search till late into the night, official sources said. The injured were rushed to the government hospital at nearby Gangavati.
The locals said the river water ran over a hundred feet deep at the spot where the bridge collapsed.
“Nobody knows how deep the river is and it’s a dangerous spot,” saidVijay R, a member of the Harigolu Haayisuva Ambigara Sangha, an association of people operating coracles across the river. Some felt that the old construction which had been abandoned for several years might have collapsed at one end, unable to hold the weight of the extension.
Experts also said that the government may have to reconstruct the whole structure.
They had also raised doubts on the quality of cables and other material used in the construction of the hanging bridge.
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