‘Unsafe’ bridge collapses in N Delhi, woman drowns in drain underneath

An unidentified woman in her 50s, believed to be homeless, was killed after a nearly 60-foot-long, old and heavily rusted steel truss of a foot overbridge over the Najafgarh drain in north Delhi's Roop Nagar collapsed on Tuesday morning, causing her to fall into the drain and drown, police said.

- Karn Pratap Singh and Yug Singh Chauhan

The bridge was built around 33 years ago and has been shut for public since July.

(ARVIND YADAV/HT PHOTO)

The bridge, though declared “structurally unsafe” in March last year and officially closed for public use in July, continued to be used by commuters who bypassed barricades to cross it, officials and residents said.

A case of causing death by negligence was registered under Section 106 of the Bharatiya ‘Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Roop Nagar police station against unknown persons, police said.

The bridge, constructed nearly 33 years ago and managed by the Delhi government's irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department, had been deemed unsafe after an inspection last year.