Panchthar, June 15: Three workers lost their lives and three others sustained serious injuries after an under-construction bailey bridge collapsed at Hewakhola in Panchthar district on Saturday evening. The bridge, being built with Indian technical assistance, was part of a reconstruction effort along the Mechi Highway.

The bridge was being installed to connect Phidim Municipality-4 with Hilihang Rural Municipality-7, replacing a structure that had been washed away by floods in September last year. According to local authorities, the 70-meter-long bridge collapsed during installation, causing multiple casualties.

Ruplal Chaudhary (22), Rajan Chaudhary (27), and Rakesh Chaudhary (22), all residents of Jitpur Simara Sub-Metropolitan City-12 in Bara district, died while undergoing treatment at Nobel Medical College in Biratnagar, police confirmed.

The injured—Bhuleshwar Chaudhary, Prakash Chaudhary, and Abhishek Chaudhary, also from Simara—are currently receiving treatment at the same hospital.

Chief District Officer of Panchthar, Arun Pokharel, said the bridge collapsed while workers were in the process of installing it using new construction technology. "The bridge gave way during the final phase of installation," he said, adding that a technical investigation will be launched to determine the exact cause of the failure.

The original bridge at Hewakhola had been destroyed by flooding in June 2018. A temporary bailey bridge was constructed shortly after to restore traffic along the vital route. However, that structure too was swept away by floods on September 15 last year, prompting fresh reconstruction efforts.

Local authorities and project engineers are now assessing the site, and further work has been suspended pending a full investigation.

People’s Review News Monitoring Service