Three dead, two injured as bridge collapses during repair work in Jammu; Dy CM orders probe

Jammu, May 2: Three labourers were killed and two persons including a fire officer were injured after a portion of an old bridge collapsed during repair work in the Thuther area of Bantalab on the outskirts of Jammu, officials said on Saturday.

They were trapped under debris on Friday when labourers were carrying out retaining wall and foundation work on the bridge, which had been damaged in flash floods last year.

Police, Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Fire and Emergency Services launched a massive rescue operation that continued through the night under floodlights for nearly 12 hours.

One labourer identified as Tarsem Lal was rescued shortly after the collapse while rescue teams later recovered three bodies from the debris, officials said.

A senior officer said the search and rescue operation concluded on Saturday morning, with three bodies recovered and two injured persons rescued.

Among the injured was Divisional Fire Officer, Fire and Emergency Services Department, Mohammad Jaffar who sustained injuries after being hit by a boulder during the operation. Both injured persons have been hospitalised.

Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary visited the site at midnight, ordered an inquiry into the incident, and directed that the probe be completed within five days.

He also ordered the suspension of the assistant executive engineer and junior engineer, while directing the attachment of the executive engineer.

Following the order, Assistant Executive Engineer Sahil Verma and Junior Engineer Sajad Mir were suspended pending inquiry.

The government has constituted a three-member committee headed by Purshotam Kumar, Secretary Technical (Engineer-in-Chief), Public Works (R&B) Department to investigate the incident. Superintendent Engineer Arit Gupta and Executive Engineer Rajan Mengi are members of the panel. (PTI)