A bridge under construction in India suddenly collapsed

Reported by India's NDTV on June 19

A bridge under construction in

Bihar, India partially collapsed a few days ago

The bridge cost 120 million rupees

(about 10.44 million yuan)

The scene of the bridge collapse (screenshot of NDTV video footage)

The video shows that the bridge, built over a rushing river, tilted to one side and then collapsed, with part of the structure being swept away within seconds as people nearby began running to safety. A local legislator said he had asked the government to investigate the collapse.

India has seen multiple bridge collapse accidents in recent years.

On June 4, 2023, also in Bihar, India, the under-construction Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge spanning the Ganges collapsed. The bridge had also collapsed in 2022. The bridge's collapse once again raised questions about the quality of construction materials.

It is understood that the Aguwani-Sultanganj bridge is an extradosed cable-stayed bridge, also called a partial cable-stayed bridge, which usually has the appearance of a cable-stayed bridge with very short towers. This type of bridge is a typical hybrid structure between a cable-stayed bridge and a cantilever beam bridge, featuring small-angle stay cables and a more solid upper deck structure, with the characteristics of short towers, rigid girders, and concentrated cables.

Its main girder has relatively high stiffness and is the main load-bearing component, while the stay cables stiffen the girder and adjust the forces. Compared with continuous beam bridges, this type of bridge has a more novel structure, greater spanning capacity, and is simpler and more economical to construct; compared with cable-stayed bridges, it is easier to construct, saves materials, and has greater main girder stiffness.

Experts at the time said that since this is a mature and widely used technology, it cannot be ruled out that there were no problems in the design, but that various hidden hazards existed during construction and accumulated over time, leading to a collapse that could not withstand the storm.

It is reported that the bridge cost 17.1 billion rupees (about 1.47 billion yuan), with a total length of 3.1 kilometers, and was originally expected to be completed around November to December 2023.

In addition, on October 30, 2022, a nearly 150-year-old suspension bridge in Morbi district, Gujarat, India, suddenly collapsed and fell into the river, killing 141 people. At the time of the incident, hundreds of people were on the bridge, and many fell into the river, including many women and children.

The bridge had just undergone several months of renovation at a cost of 20 million rupees (about 1.76 million yuan) and had reopened to the public only five days earlier.

Screenshot of the video before the suspension bridge collapsed

According to official statements cited by The Times of India, there were far too many people on the bridge at the time, exceeding the limit it could bear.

The Indian Prime Minister's Office said it would provide compensation of 200,000 rupees (about 17,600 yuan) to each person killed in the accident, and 50,000 rupees to the injured. The funds would come from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund.

Indian media pointed out at the time that the bridge collapse exposed the country's infrastructure loopholes that cannot be ignored, and once again exposed India's extreme lack of capacity to manage large crowds in public places.