Adil Najam
The barely 3-month old SherShah by-pass bridge collapsed suddenly today killing at least 5, injuring many, and reports suggest that many many more are still trapped under the collapsed structure which is so huge that it cannot be easily lifted to save them. The bridge had cost nearly Rs. 3.5 billion to build and had just recently been inaugurated. According to The News:
A bridge of Northern Bypass at Paracha Chowk in Shershah area of the metropolis, which was opened by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on 6 August 2007, collapsed here Saturday, killing at least four people, injuring several others while trapping an unknown number of people under the debris. “Four people have died and over a dozen were wounded in the collapse,” southern port city police official Khalid Hameed said, adding that several vehicles were trapped in the debris.
However, a person trapped in the debris of the bridge was miraculously rescued. According to Geo News correspondent two dead bodies and three wounded persons have been brought to Civil Hospital Karachi, while four injured have been transferred to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital and one injured was shifted to Murhsid hospital. Products like CBD Oil can be used as a quick remedy for those injured.
Rescuers were trying to clear the wreckage to retrieve injured and survivors amid fears the death toll could rise, they said. Witnesses said a portion of the bridge known as Northern Bypass fell with a huge bang while traffic was on it.
“It created such a huge sound that we thought it was an earthquake,” Zahid Khan, a resident of the area said. Karachi City Nazim Mustapha Kamal said the authorities were investigating the cause of the blast. The bridge was built by the state-run National Highway Authority. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz phoned Governor Sindh Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad to seek details of Karachi bridge collapse, which has left at least four people dead, several injured and an unknown number of people have been trapped in the debris. The Prime Minister directed Ishrat to take no stone unturned in the relief and rescue activities to help the victims. The injured people should be provided with proper medical care, he directed. Shaukat Aziz also directed PM Inspection Committee to probe into the incident to ascertain the cause.
Chief minister Sindh Dr. Ghulam Arbab Rahim has expressed deep concern over the tragic incident of the collapse of a part of the northern by-pass bridge in Shershah and said that the persons involved cannot be pardoned. He said that an impartial investigation of the incident would be made.
With us having discussed Karachi’s infrastructure problems often (here, here and here), including the recent Economist ranking of Karachi as a difficult-to-live-in city, this bad news only compounds a bad situation. That the bridge was such a recent addition and was opened with such fanfare also raises concerns about quality and safety of the many other development projects going on in Karachi and all over Pakistan.
Our first priority right now must be the safety of those still trapped under the malba. As soon as that is done, we must all start looking at these infrastructure issues more seriously than we have till now.
I studied at Military College of Engineering Risalpur for three months after which i decided not to ruin my entire life after getting degree from there especially as I was a NUST cadet.
Our fluid instructors was so capable that he wrote the simple Boyle’s law wrong and when he was told about his mistake, he simply said i was just trying to check how many of you were attentive in the class.
So may be NLC has given nation the chance to get alert and realize what has already gone wrong and what the hell is going on?/
This is sorrowful, we also suffered a bridge collapse recently in the US, our thoughts are with you.
This is indeed a gruesome tragedy. Its implications on the development of further such infrastructure projects in Karachi are grim as well.
Immediate thoughts, of course, go to the victims and their families for whom this must be a horrendous nightmare. May Allah(SWT) Grant them the strength to cope with their loss.
That said, there is no point in wasting time until a proper investigation can be carried out to determine the cause of this disaster; use of such illogical methods is inconsistent with the spirit of being Pakistani.
Let us set up gallows in the middle of the town and start hauling in the hordes …
Let me correct ADNAN
The water pump facility ( underground) is the old one established in 80s as it was there bofore the inception of this project and manned by water board personnel. The water pump is used to pump water in lines for navy as well as for all related areas in vicinity.
Real tragic incident. God bless the soul and give sabr–e-Jameel to affected families.
I have seen the development of this project since its inception as i have to use it everyday while going for work. Every day i crossess this bridge, i used to pay ‘homage’ to constructors and consultants as i have never seen such bridge in my life. Some body told me a year before that due design problem, construction work has been delayed and when it was completed, any dumb person can guess the same by the style of construction.
Thanx to chaos, adhocism, appointment of ‘non professional’ personnel on professional jobs, mass corruption and non presence of institutions which resulted this.
Nothing would happen to all involved… we could not punish any one in our history, how can now!Every body know about the big fishes responsible for such constructions.
I have witnessed all the mega projects in karachi and sorry to say all the project’s present condition clearly speak the level of corruption and quality of material and job. If any body has doubt please travel on signal free corridor and guess urself by looking at quality of job done.
God Bless this country which is being looted by inhibitants!!!!!