Overview
- A launching girder used to place bridge segments collapsed while being moved on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026, at an under‑construction four‑lane bridge on the Bakarpur–Manikpur section of NH‑139W in Vaishali district near Jalalpur and Itwaripur.
- Rescue teams and local officials freed one worker trapped under the structure using gas cutters and treated six to seven injured laborers at Sadar Hospital, Hajipur, with two seriously injured patients referred to Patna for further care.
- NHAI said the malfunction was a technical failure of the launching girder system and has begun a detailed technical assessment while local authorities have opened a formal probe into the incident.
- Workers and villagers alleged missing safety gear, inadequate emergency arrangements and prior signs of structural sinking at the site, and crowds at the scene reportedly damaged the contractor’s camp during tense rescue operations.
- The bridge is part of the Bharatmala NH project linking Bakarpur and Manikpur, and the outcome of the NHAI assessment and the official investigation will determine site safety fixes, possible contractor liability, and wider scrutiny of construction oversight.