IMPHAL, Nov 1 - The vehicular movement on National Highway 37, which connects Imphal with Jiribam district, has been disrupted after a bailey bridge across the Irang river in Noney district collapsed this morning.
The incident took place when a truck carrying sand was crossing the bridge at Taobam village under Khongsang Police Station, around 100 km west of Imphal, at around 7.20 am.
The driver of the ill-fated truck identified as Kahmba got trapped inside the vehicle after it plunged into the river. However, the handyman of the truck, identified as Raja, was rescued by the villagers.
The State Disaster Response Force personnel from Imphal were expected to join the operation shortly, police sources said. Meanwhile, the vehicles have been diverted through alternate routes, the sources added.
Today�s incident happened barely three days after the resumption of vehicular movement on the Imphal-Mao section of National Highway 2. On October 23, the Imphal-Mao section of the highway was blocked due to a massive landslide triggered by heavy rain at Khongnem Thana under Senapati district.
