Lucknow, September 30
At least eight persons were killed and 12 seriously injured when a section of an under-construction flyover collapsed on the Lucknow-Faizabad Highway near Chinhaat on the outskirts of the city today.

The flyover was part of the ambitious bypass road project launched by local MP and then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

It was being constructed by the National Highway Authority of India and was to be completed in two years but has been incomplete for the last six years.

The contractor for the project was Hindustan Construction Company, which had been handed over the project some six months ago, said chief secretary A.K. Gupta who refused to comment if the accident was due to their negligence.

“It is too early to say anything,” he said. Two hours after the collapse, Chief Minister Mayawati arrived to review rescue operations and remained there for five minutes. She blamed the Central government for mishap, saying, “They allowed the use of substandard material that caused the accident.”

It was a heart-rending site at the scene of the accident as countless people were visible crushed under the debris and crying out for help.

However, the crane present at the site was unable to remove the huge solid blocks under which they were buried. The injured were rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital from where the two seriously injured were taken to the trauma centre of the Chatrapati Sahuji Maharaj University Hospital. Some of them suffered head injuries and were in coma.