DEADLY COLLAPSE: At least 15 dead, 150 trapped in India disaster
At least 15 people were killed and another 150 believed trapped when a portion of an overpass under construction collapsed in a congested area in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata on Thursday, police and officials said. Army troops joined efforts to rescue those trapped inside cars, trucks and other vehicles that lay under massive concrete blocks and metal debris. Witnesses said that emergency personnel were attempting to use their bare hands to rescue those caught under the wreckage. The collapse occurred in Bara Bazaar, a busy residential and shopping area in the city of approximately 4.5 million people. "The area was very, very crowded. Motorized rickshaws, taxis ... there was a lot of traffic," one witness told the New Delhi Television news channel, or NDTV. Another added: "We heard a loud rumble and then saw a lot of dust in the sky." Huge cranes and other rescue equipment reached the site after the collapse and began clearing the rubble. Workers ...