Three of the six workers injured in the collapse of an under-construction bridge in eastern Nepal on Saturday, June 14, succumbed to their injuries later the same day.
The bridge was being installed over the Hewa River to connect Phidim Municipality-4 and Hilihang Rural Municipality-7 along the Phidim–Taplejung road section of the Mechi Highway.
According to DSP Kaushal Kumar Budhathoki, Chief of the District Police Office in Panchthar, the deceased have been identified as Ruplal Chaudhary (22), Rajan Chaudhary (27), and Rakesh Chaudhary (22), all residents of Jeetpur-Simara Sub-Metropolitan City–12 in Bara district.
They were referred to Nobel Medical College and Teaching Hospital in Biratnagar for treatment. The hospital declared them dead upon arrival, state-owned RSS news agency reported.
The 70-meter modular bailey bridge was being installed by the Road Division Office, Ilam, under a grant from the Government of India. The project, estimated at Rs 34.9 million, was being executed by Super Saugat Light Builders JV.
The section on the Phidim side had already been installed and was being gradually pushed across the Hewa River using an excavator. The RSS report , citing eyewitnesses, said the structure appeared to buckle under excessive load on the Phidim end, triggering the collapse. All six workers on-site were thrown into the river.
The original 45-meter bridge was destroyed by floods in mid-June 2023. A temporary 50-meter bailey bridge installed a month later was also swept away in a September 2024 flood.
The latest bridge, located about 90 meters downstream from the previous site, was in the final stages of installation when it collapsed.
In response, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has formed a five-member investigation committee to determine the cause of the failure and propose immediate and long-term safety measures.
Minister Devendra Dahal constituted the committee through a ministerial decision. It is led by Lalijan Khanal, Chief of the Bridge Branch at the Department of Roads (DoR), and includes Binod Kumar Mouwar (Chief, Federal Road Supervision and Monitoring Office, Damak), Jibendra Misra (Chief, Road Division Office, Butwal), Shyam Kumar Yadav (Chief, Damak Division Office), and SDE Amit Kumar Verma.
The committee began its work on Sunday and has been tasked with submitting its report within seven days. It will also assess the feasibility of temporarily resuming transportation across the river until a permanent solution is implemented.
(With inputs from RSS)
