3 hurt as portion of under-construction flyover collapses

Mishap leads to traffic jam in Pitampura

Three persons, including a businessman and his wife, were injured and two cars crushed when a portion of an under-construction flyover in west Delhi’s Pitampura collapsed on Thursday morning. The accident led to severe traffic snarls on the route that sees heavy vehicular movement in any case.

The contractor under whose supervision the construction of the Wazirabad-Vikaspuri elevated corridor was taking place, fled immediately after the collapse.
Police in Mangolpuri have registered a case of negligence against him and are investigating the cause behind the accident.

“Initial probe suggests a mechanical fault. It appears the straps supporting the side wing of a pillar of the flyover snapped leading to the collapse,” a senior police officer told Deccan Herald.
The concrete wing, weighing several tones, collapsed on two cars passing below at about 10.30 am on Thursday.

Along with the debris came down a labourer Bechan Singh who was standing on the side wing that collapsed. Singh has suffered multiple fractures, including one to his hipbones.

Among the two damaged cars, the worst hit was a Hyundai i10 in which a couple was seated. The block collapsed on the car’s bonnet, leading to injuries to its occupants, local businessman Sanjay Bhadauria and his wife Vedika. The other damaged car was a Maruti Suzuki Alto that was taking a U-turn at that spot.

While the Alto car was also severely damaged, its occupant escaped uninjured.
Eyewitnesses said a crowded low-floor Delhi Transport Corporation bus had a miraculous escape. “The bus was immediately ahead of the i10 car and passed the accident spot only seconds before the collapse. The damage would have been severe had the debris fallen on the bus,” an eyewitness Kamlesh Chandan said.

Panic immediately spread as traffic movement on the road came to a standstill. Other commuters and local businessmen rushed to help the injured victims.

The couple was rescued from the debris and the three injured were rushed to a nearby hospital where they are undergoing treatment. Police said their lives are out of danger.

Traffic Police officials said the accident forced them to divert the traffic from the Pitampura route to Peeragarhi Chowk. “The traffic snarls persisted for several hours after the accident. Normalcy was restored only by evening,” a traffic official told Deccan Herald.

The construction of the elevated corridor was started by the Sheila Dikshit government in 2013.
The flyover is divided into three elevated corridors: one from Vikaspuri to Meerabagh, the second from Mangolpuri to Madhuban Chowk and the third between Madhuban Chowk and Mukarba Chowk. The accident took place on the second stretch of the corridor.