Tragic Mizoram rail bridge accident near Aizawl claims 23 lives

In a devastating turn of events, at least 23 construction workers, including six from a single family, lost their lives in a catastrophic rail bridge collapse in Mizoram, near the state capital Aizawl. The tragedy occurred on a site located 21km from Aizawl, near Sairang, which is part of a 51.3km route beginning at Bairabi on the Assam-Mizoram border. This shocking incident has prompted Northeast Frontier Railway’s CPRO Sabyasachi De to initiate a comprehensive inquiry to determine the reasons for the failure of the rail bridge, designed by STUP Consultant and verified for technical feasibility by IIT Guwahati.

According to Mizoram’s State Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Minister Lalchamliana, the search operations for missing workers were suspended after dark due to the challenging terrain and the likelihood of rain. “We have retrieved 18 bodies so far. The search for the rest and the missing workers will resume on Thursday,” Lalchamliana told Times of India. The accident site’s hazardous conditions were further highlighted when two members of a local quick-reaction team had to rappel down a structure over the Kurung River to rescue an injured engineer.

Clarifying the situation, a Railways spokesperson stated that it was the collapse of a gantry, not the bridge, that resulted in the unfortunate loss of life. Gantries are steel structures used for lifting and supporting bridge segments during construction. This high-level committee’s inquiry will focus on the failure of the gantry, an essential part of the under-construction Bhairavi-Sairang New Railway Line project, which features 130 bridges in total. “High-level inquiry committee has been constituted to probe into the matter,” the spokesperson emphasized.

This tragic incident has raised pressing questions about the safety protocols followed in infrastructure projects, especially since the Bairabi-Sairang rail line is part of a national project aimed at connecting the capitals of eight northeastern states by rail. The line involves the construction of 130 bridges, 23 tunnels, and four stations—Hortoki, Kawnpui, Mualkhang, and Sairang—under the jurisdiction of the Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways.

While Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga referred to the incident as a bridge collapse, the Railways maintained that the already constructed part of the bridge remains intact. Nonetheless, this tragic event near Sairang, the last railhead in the northeastern hill state of Mizoram, underscores the imperative need for stringent safety measures and thorough inspections in such large-scale infrastructure projects.