By IANS
Karachi : At least five people were killed and scores injured Saturday when a portion of the newly inaugurated Sher Shah Northern bypass bridge caved in at Paracha Chowk here, Online news agency reported.
Authorities said the toll could mount as a large number of people rescued had sustained grievous injuries and many more were trapped under the rubble. Hospital sources confirmed two bodies had been brought to their mortuary.
Relief and rescue teams said heavy bridge building machineries and a traffic jam were obstructing their operation. Two cranes were seen lifting heavy chunks of concrete, but eyewitnesses said many more were needed to clear the spot and rescue the trapped.
An eyewitness said he heard many people trapped under the debris crying for help. A coach with passengers and several vehicles went down with the collapsed portion of the bridge and were seen buried under the rubble.
The city administration asked hospitals to attend to the injured on priority.
Federal Minister for Communications Shamim Siddiqui, who was overseeing rescue work at the spot, said the government would order a probe into the causes of the accident and the guilty would be punished.
President Pervez Musharraf last month had inaugurated the bridge a portion of which was under construction at the time of the collapse.