Mumbai. At least 20 workers were killed when a crane collapsed on a highway under construction in a western Indian suburb of Mumbai on Tuesday, authorities said.
The aircraft collapsed overnight on concrete slabs, from which fragments fell, killing workers working on the construction of the Samruddhi highway in Maharashtra state, the Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said. ).
The tragedy occurred in Thane, a suburb of Mumbai, the economic capital of India.
The images released by the NDRF show rescuers inspecting the place, where deformed metal beams can be seen.
The Samruddhi highway is to go from Mumbai to Nagpur and is part of a road infrastructure construction program in this country of strong economic growth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “saddened” by the accident and ordered financial compensation to the families of the deceased.
Infrastructure accidents are far from rare in India.
In October 2022, the collapse of a bridge where recent repairs had been carried out left 130 dead in the state of Gujarat (northwest).
In 2016, at least 26 people were killed when a bridge collapsed on a busy street in Kolkata.
