Two bodies and one injured person were retrieved from the debris of a partially collapsed old bridge in Jammu after a 12-hour search operation, officials confirmed on Saturday.
The death toll has now risen to three, while two others remain injured after the rescue operation entered its second day.
One injured worker was pulled out of the rubble on Friday shortly after a portion of the bridge collapsed in the Thuther area of Bantalab. Deputy Chief Minister Surinder Kumar Choudhary rushed to the spot at midnight and ordered the immediate suspension of two engineers. A committee has also been constituted to probe the incident.
According to officials, labourers were working on the retaining wall and foundation of the bridge, which was damaged in flash floods last year. Four workers were trapped when the structure collapsed on Friday.
Teams from the Police, Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and Fire and Emergency Services immediately launched a rescue operation.
The rescued labourer has been identified as Tarsem Lal. “The search and rescue operation concluded this morning. Three bodies have been recovered from the spot. Two others have been rescued in injured condition,” a senior officer told reporters here.
Deputy Chief Minister Choudhary, who was briefed on the incident at the spot, said, “I have ordered the suspension of the Assistant Executive Engineer and the Junior Engineer. I have also issued directions to the Engineer-in-Chief for the attachment of the Executive Engineer.”
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