GUWAHATI, India—A construction platform at a railroad bridge under construction in northeastern India fell Wednesday, killing at least 26 employees and wounding two more, according to an official.
According to the police control center, the gantry fell near a bridge in Sairang, a settlement on the outskirts of Aizawal, the state capital of Mizoram. For over two years, the bridge has been under construction.
State Transport Minister T.J. Lalnuntluanga, who is on the scene, said 18 dead have been retrieved and eight more have been found and are being dragged from the rubble by rescuers.
According to authorities, residents of a nearby village raced to rescue injured employees and transport them to a hospital. The government-run National Disaster Response Force also rushed to the location to look for survivors.
The reason of the collapse is being investigated by railroad officials. Earlier, authorities stated there were 40 employees on the platform when it fell.
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in South Africa for the BRICS conference, expressed sadness over the tragedy in Mizoram state. "Rescue operations are underway, and all possible assistance is being given to those affected," he stated on X, previously known as Twitter.
Safety issues have long plagued India's transportation infrastructure, resulting in severe tragedies on its roadways and bridges.
Last October, a century-old cable suspension bridge fell into a river in the western Indian state of Gujarat, sending hundreds plunging into the water and killing at least 132 people in one of the country's deadliest catastrophes in a decade.
