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India Highway Collapses: Many Dead

Other News Materials 10 September 2007 01:00 (UTC +04:00)

(SKY news) A partially constructed highway overpass has collapsed in Southern India leaving at least 20 people dead, according to police.

Several people are still likely to be trapped in the rubble of the accident which took place in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state, local police chief Balwinder Singh told reporters.

The overpass was being built to connect the city's upmarket Banjara Hills residential neighbourhood to Panjagutta, a busy commercial area in the city.

The accident occurred during heavy rains, and cranes and ambulances being rushed to the accident site from all over the city to help in the rescue were delayed by traffic jams.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "I am shocked and deeply grieved by the accident in Hyderabad."

Witnesses said enormous concrete slabs from the structure collapsed, crushing several pedestrians trying to take shelter from the rain, as well as vehicles on either side.

"We tried to rush some of the injured to the hospital but the traffic made getting out of the area very difficult," said Irshad Ahmad, who was driving in the area.

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