12 dead and many more trapped in flyover collapse

DAINIK NATION BUREAU

At least 12 people died in flyover collapse on Tuesday afternoon. Many are feared trapped in the debris.

“Several people are feared trapped,” an official said. Rescue operations are currently underway. An eyewitness said he saw four cars, an auto-rickshaw and a minibus being crushed. “The help came after an hour,” he said.

Uttar Pradesh Minister Sidharth Nath Singh said Chief Minister Adityanath had ordered his deputy Keshav Prasad Maurya and Minister Neelkanth Tiwari to the site of the accident. CM said he had asked for a report over the incident and announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the dead and Rs 2 lakh to those gravely wounded.

“I express grief over the incident, my condolence with the affected families. I have sent Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Minister Neelkanth Tiwari to the spot. I have also instituted a committee to investigate the incident. I should get a report in 48 hours,” he said, adding five equipped NDRF teams comprising 250 jawans have been sent to the accident site.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi,Modi said the Uttar Pradesh government was monitoring the situation. Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of the prime minister.

“Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected,” he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said he had spoken with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected.”

Naidu too condoled the deaths in the incident in a tweet.PTI