A woman and her two-year-old son died, while her husband and daughter were injured after an under-construction Metro pillar fell on their two-wheeler in Karnataka’s Bengaluru today.
The incident was reported from Bengaluru’s Nagavara area this morning. Officials said the couple and their twin children – a daughter and a son – were passing through the stretch on their bike when the iron pillar crashed on them.
Tejasvani and her son Vihan sustained grievous injuries in the accident. Passerby rushed them to a nearby hospital where they died during the treatment. Tejasvani’s husband Lohith and daughter are being treated at the hospital.
Lohith was driving the bike and Tejasvini was the pillion rider, the police said, adding both of them were wearing helmets. The pillar, made of metal rods, was about 40 feet long.
“A Metro pillar collapsed and hit a bike on which four people were travelling. Tejasvini and her son Vihan were seriously injured and immediately shifted to the Altius hospital. Unfortunately, they died there,” said Dr Bheemashankar S Guled, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru East.
The work has has been suspended along the outer ring road for two days. A case has been registered and investigation is on, he said. Mr Guled also said that experts are at the accident site to analyse the cause of the pillar collapse.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has assured a thorough inquiry into the accident. “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 ₹ 20 lakh for the family. Anjum Parvez, Managing Director, BMRCL said they will also launch an internal audit.
An eyewitness said the family of four was rushed to the hospital by passersby. “We requested the civic body to help us remove the wreckage and the barricades, but no one helped us. We later took them to the hospital with the help of locals.
Locals and commuters in the area also staged a protest against the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) – the city’s civic body.