NEW DELHI
\nAt least 22 laborers were killed on Wednesday when the railway bridge they were building across a ravine in India\u2019s remote northeast collapsed, with four others feared dead.
\nThe incident took place in Sairang, a town around 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Mizoram state capital Aizawl \u2014 an outlying pocket of the country near the border with Myanmar.
\nVideo footage shared by Mizoram chief minister Zoramthanga showed a metal frame that had toppled off towering columns into a wooded valley below.
\n\u201cDeeply saddened and affected by this tragedy,\u201d he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. Zoramthanga, who uses one name, added that he was grateful that people had \u201ccome out in large numbers to help with rescue operations.\u201d
\nForty laborers had been working at the site, according to the Northeast Frontier Railway.
\nAn employee of the agency, who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media, said 22 bodies had been recovered from the wreckage.
\nAnother four people were still missing, he added.
\nA committee has been set up to investigate the cause of the accident.
\n\u201cRescue operations are underway and all possible assistance is being given to those affected,\u201d the office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
\nModi was \u201cpained\u201d by the accident and offered his \u201ccondolences to those who have lost their loved ones,\u201d his office added.
\nThe government will pay around $2,400 to the next of kin of those killed, it said.
\nRailways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also announced separate compensation for those killed or injured in the accident.
\nBuilding and construction collapses are common during India\u2019s June-September monsoon season, with old and rickety structures buckling under days of non-stop rain.
\nAt least 20 workers were crushed to death in western India this month when a crane collapsed above an under-construction expressway outside the financial capital Mumbai.
\nLast year, at least 137 people were killed when a pedestrian bridge collapsed in Gujarat state, sending hundreds of people tumbling into a river or clinging to the wreckage while screaming for help in the dark.
\nThe collapse of a flyover onto a busy street in Kolkata killed at least 26 people in 2016.
\nIn 2011, at least 32 people were killed when a bridge packed with festival crowds collapsed near the hill town and popular tourist destination of Darjeeling.
\nAnd less than a week later, around 30 people were killed when a footbridge over a river in the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh collapsed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEW DELHI At least 22 laborers were killed on Wednesday when the railway bridge they were building across a ravine in India\u2019s remote northeast collapsed, with four others feared dead. The incident took place in Sairang, a town around 20 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Mizoram state capital Aizawl \u2014 an outlying pocket of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-351205","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n