2 dead in Hyd'bad flyover mishap; rains blamed

Two persons were killed and nine others injured when a portion of a flyover under construction at the busy commercial area of Punjagutta in Hyderabad collapsed around 7.30 pm on Sunday following heavy rains.

Scores of rescue workers and two heavy-duty cranes worked the whole night to remove the pre-cast slabs and retrieve the cars trapped under the rubble.

Hyderabad District Collector R V Chandravadan told rediff.com on Monday morning that 'two bodies had been recovered while nine injured persons were undergoing treatment in the hospital. Only one person was a serious condition.'

The mishap initially triggered fears that at least 15 persons could have lost their lives as the giant iron girders and concrete slabs caved in and flattened several vehicles.

However, after clearing most of the rubble on Monday morning, police said two persons -- Ankit Arora from Haryana, an executive in Infosys and M B Kumar, a close aide of TRS leader S Santhosh Reddy -- had been killed.

The injured have been admitted to Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences and the Apollo Hospitals at Jubilee Hills.
 
The flyover passes from Begumpet area to Road Number one in Banjara Hills. A portion of the flyover, extending about 30 to 40 metre, came down on the left side with a thud, trapping as many as eight vehicles, including two auto-rickshaws and six cars, under its debris. Some of the cars got mangled under the impact of the huge moulds of concrete and steel that fell on them from a height of over 20 to 25 feet.

Metal jacks and pillars (iron scaffolds) on which five pre-fabricated spans or blocks, collapsed between Piers 20 and 21. This had a cascading effect and all the five spans came crashing one after the other. Some adjoining spans were seen hanging precariously.

Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation officials blamed the heavy rains for the accident. They said the scaffolding and spans came down as loose soil underneath the metal jacks was washed away.
 
Municipal Administration Minister Koneru Ranga Rao, who visited the accident site on Monday morning, told media persons that a five-member committee of engineers is being constituted to go into the causes of the flyover collapse. The GHMC also said that action will be taken against the contractors after an inquiry by its engineers.