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Varanasi: At least twelve persons have been crushed to death and more than four dozen people have been injured as an under construction bridge collapsed near the Cantonment railway station here this evening.

The death toll is expected to rise.

Many cars and other vehicles were crushed when a pillar collapsed bringing down a huge girder. The knowledgeable are asking why the  area  had not been cordoned off to block the flow of traffic for ensuring human safety near the construction site. This is gross negligence and the culprits should be dealt with under the law.

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed grief over the incident. He addressed party workers at the BJP headquarters here this evening on the violence and rigging of panchayat polls in Bengal, his party’s good performance in Karnataka elections and received a huge round of applause from his supporters after disaster had struck Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has announced an ex-gratia of Rs. 5 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs. 2 lakh for the critically injured.