“Unsafe” 30-year

The body of the woman, believed to be about 60, was retrieved from the drain with the help of personnel from the Delhi Fire Service, the National Disaster Response Force and Boat Club divers, officials said.

An iron foot overbridge over a drain in North Delhi’s Roop Nagar collapsed Tuesday, leaving a woman aged around 50 dead, officials said.

The body of the woman, believed to be about 50, was retrieved from the drain with the help of personnel from the Delhi Fire Service, the National Disaster Response Force and Boat Club divers, officials said.

Video of the rescue operation has surfaced on social media.

The incident occurred around 9 a.m.

as local residents were crossing the bridge, according to officials.

As it began to collapse, people rushed to safety, witnesses said.

However, the woman, suspected to be a beggar, became trapped and fell with the structure into the drain, an official said.

“It was a steel truss foot overbridge located near Mother Dairy in North Delhi’s Roop Nagar across the Najafgarh Drain.

The bridge is around 30 years old and had already been declared unsafe, with barricades and warning signages in place,” said a senior government official.

However, it was reportedly still being used by the public despite restrictions, officials added.

A Delhi Fire Service official said a call about the collapse was received around 9:15 a.m.

Rescue teams, along with local police, conducted a search and located the woman under debris after nearly two hours, the official said.

She was taken to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead.

A senior police officer said that, prima facie, it appears only the woman was trapped.

A search operation to determine whether anyone else was caught in the collapse was underway, the officer said.

Teams from civic authorities were also called to remove debris from the drain.

Preliminary assessment suggests that the collapse occurred due to structural deterioration of the ageing bridge, officials said.

“The site has been secured and further details are being ascertained,” the official added.

Meanwhile, the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department has constituted a three-member committee to probe the incident and submit a report within 48 hours.

The officer said the bridge’s dilapidated condition may have led to the collapse.

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said in a post on X that an iron bridge had collapsed in Roop Nagar and that several people were feared dead.

Senior officials from Delhi Police and civic authorities reached the site, and an investigation has been initiated, officials said.

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