Woman, toddler killed as metro pillar collapses in Bengaluru

A woman and her two-and-a-half-year-old son died in Bengaluru after a metro pillar under construction collapsed on Tuesday morning.

The incident occurred on Tuesday morning in Bengaluru’s Nagavara area, India Today reported. A metro railway pillar that was being constructed in the area, on the road from Kalyan Nagar to HRBR Layout collapsed on the road.

The woman's husband and daughter have been hospitalised with injuries. The four of them were reportedly travelling on a bike when the incident took place.

The two victims have been identified as Tejaswini and Vihaan. Bheemashankar S Guled, DCP East Bengaluru said, “This morning around 10:45 am, the couple along with their twin children were travelling towards Hebbal when the metro pillar collapsed on the bike. The mother, Tejaswini and son Vihaan were seriously injured and shifted to Altis Hospital where both of them succumbed to their injuries," reported ANI.

The DCP also added that forensic experts are at the incident site and are investigating the case.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai assured that the reason of the pillar collapse will be investigated. "I just got to know about it, we will get it investigated. We will ascertain the reason for the collapse of the pillar and provide compensation," he told reporters in Dharwad.

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has announced a financial assistance of Rs 20 lakh for the family.

Anjum Parvez, Managing Director, BMRCL said that a detailed probe will be done to understand if it was a technical error or manmade.

"We follow highest quality standards possible when it comes to construction, detailed probe will be done and will see if it was a technical error or manmade. Steps will be taken to prevent such incidents from happening again," he said.

(With agency inputs)

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