Footbridge collapse: Two still critical

NEW DELHI - Two of the four labourers, who were critically injured when a foot overbridge collapsed near the main venue of the Commonwealth Games Tuesday, are still critical while the condition of the other two has improved considerably, doctors said Saturday.

“There are four more patients with spine injuries but they are stable. We are monitoring them closely,” said All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) trauma centre’s chief medical officer M.C. Mishra.

Four other injured were taken to the Safdarjung Hospital and were stated to be stable.

“One of the patients underwent a five-hour-long spinal fixing surgery yesterday (Friday) as he got paralysed in the accident. He is still in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) but is stable,” Mishra told IANS.

Another patient had recovered earlier Thursday.

As many as 27 labourers were injured when the elevated pedestrian crossing at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed.

Some 7,000 participants and officials from 71 countries and territories are expected to attend the Oct 3-14 Commonwealth Games, India’s biggest sporting event after the 1982 Asian Games.