5 Killed In Suicide Attack In Peshawar

PESHAWAR: At least five people were killed and 20 wounded in a suicide attack Monday morning near a police station in Peshawar Badhabir.

A suicide bomber rammed a vehicle packed with explosives right flank of the local police station buildings damaged a mosque and college degree near the police station.

The relief operation was underway to recover people trapped under the rubble. The wounded were being brought to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar.

The blast also damaged nearby residential buildings. Experts say removal of about 200 to 250 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has ordered investigation into the incident.

Delhi Metro Bridge Collapses, 5 killed

NEW DELHI: Five persons, including an engineer, were killed and 15 others injured when an under-construction over-bridge of the Delhi Metro
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collapsed on Sunday, in the second such incident in eight months.

The accident took place as one of the pillars of the bridge gave in when a launcher was being erected close to Lady Sriram College in Dhamrudpur in Lajpat Nagar at around 5am.

“Five people have died. Of them – three were among the 15 workers who were taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Trauma Centre and the other two are still trapped under debris,” Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson Anuj Dayal told reporters here.

The Delhi Metro attributed the accident to a “problem in the design” of the pillar. “We were trying to rectify it. There was a defect in the peer cap which caused the displacement,” Dayal said.

The three have been identified as Ansuman, a site engineer and construction workers Niranjan and Badan Singh, while two others at AIIMS are in a critical condition, Dayal said.

The bridge was on the Central Secretariat to Badarpur corridor of the Delhi Metro which was slated to be completed by September 2010.

“The incident took place between pillars 66 and 67 when the pillar cap was affected. Ten segments were to be erected on the stretch of which five had been completed. When the sixth segment was being erected, the launching girder collapsed due to disbalance causing a portion of the bridge to fall,” Dayal explained.

Thirty workers of Gammon India Ltd, DMRC’s contractor at the site, were present of which 20 have been affected, Dayal said. Many of the injured were also taken to the nearby Moolchand Hospital and the Safdurjang hospital.

Construction site workers alleged that the pillars on which the bridge was to be hoisted were faulty.

“There were cracks in the pillar and we had warned the contractor and officials – but they paid no heed,” said a construction labourer.

Said Balwinder Singh, a policemen facilitating rescue operations: “We have removed 16 people from the debris and they have been taken to hospital. Three people are still buried in the rubble – they were responding to us till 9.15 a.m. But now they are dead.”

Mayor Kanwar Sain was present at the site and said: “The Delhi Metro projects are going at a fast pace and the quality of work is being compromised. An enquiry is necessary.”

Sushil Choudhury, a resident of Vikram Vihar, adjacent to the construction site said that residents of the area were alarmed by the accident.

“I own a shop metres away from the spot – one miss and everything would have crashed down. I have doubts about how the Delhi Metro works now,” said Chowdhury, a former MLA of the area.

Dayal said the rescue operations are being monitored by a team of 100 DMRC engineers and DMRC managing director E. Sreedharan was on his way from Bangalore.

“He will be visiting the site. Investigations are on,” he said.

A Delhi Jal Board water supply pipe has also burst, swamping the area in ankle to knee deep water.

“We have also temporarily disconnected the electricity lines in the area. Traffic has been diverted at the Kailash Colony market, Amar Colony, the nearby Lady Sri Ram College and Blue Bells School till 6.00am tomorrow (Monday),” Dayal said

Rescue operations are underway and six cranes as well as gas cutter machines have been put into use to get through the debris.

DMRC was scheduled to complete the 190-km Phase II of the Delhi Metro by October 2010 and construction was on in full swing to ensure that deadlines were met.

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit termed the incident as “unfortunate” and said a compensation package will be worked out in consultation with the Delhi Metro.

In a similar incident in October last year, two persons were killed and 16 others injured when a portion of an under-construction bridge of the Metro collapsed and fell on a bus on Vikas Marg in Lakshmi Nagar area in east Delhi.

US Drone Attack In South Waziristan 5 Killed

WANA: Five militants were killed as a suspected US drone Thursday fired missiles in Shalam area of South Waziristan.

The spy plane reportedly fired four guided missiles on hideouts of Mullah Nazir’s militant group in Shalam area of South Waziristan, the strong hold of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan leader Baitullah Mehsud where a military offensive has been launched to oust the Taliban militants.

Five suspected militants were killed and many wounded in the blitz.