Foot overbridge caves in near Nehru Stadium, 23 hurt (Second Lead)

NEW DELHI - In another blow to India’s Commonwealth Games (CWG) preparations, a foot overbridge being constructed near the main venue Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed Tuesday injuring 23 labourers, five of them seriously.

“The labourers got hurt as the overbridge near which they were working collapsed,” a police official told IANS after the accident, barely 10 days before the Games begin.

Deputy Commissioner of Police H.S. Dhaliwal told reporters at the spot that 23 workers were injured, five of them seriously.

“A portion of the overbridge caved in. It is not on the main road but is part of the parking,” Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta told a TV channel.

Mehta said the bridge would be completed within next 10 days.

Most of the injured were rushed to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre. Some were taken to the nearby Safdarjung Hospital.

The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games, the biggest sporting event being hosted by India since the 1982 Asiad Games, will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Oct 3. The stadium, the showpiece of the event, will also host the closing ceremony.

The accident comes on a day Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Michael Fennell said parts of the Village were still not fit for accommodation.

Concerns have also been raised by the New Zealand and Scotland contingents.

–Indo Asian News Service