Woman killed after foot overbridge collapses in Roop Nagar

A 50-year-old woman was killed after a decades-old iron foot overbridge collapsed into a drain in north Delhi’s Roop Nagar on Tuesday morning. The incident prompted the Government to order an inquiry and a city-wide safety audit of similar structures.

The collapse occurred around 9.28 am near Block-3, close to a Mother Dairy booth, when the 60-foot steel truss bridge suddenly gave way. Police, fire services, and National Disaster Response Force teams rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation.

During the search, the body of the woman was recovered from the drain beneath the debris. She was taken to a hospital but was declared dead on arrival. Officials said she is believed to be a destitute woman who used to sit near the bridge and beg for a living. Her identity has not yet been officially confirmed.

According to officials, the bridge was around 33 years old and had been in a severely deteriorated condition. It had been inspected in March 2025 and declared structurally unsafe. Authorities had subsequently shut it for public use in July 2025 and installed barricades to restrict access.

However, local residents said the barricades were routinely ignored. People continued to use the bridge on foot despite warnings. “The bridge was in a dangerous condition for months. Even after it was closed, people kept crossing it,” a resident said. Preliminary findings suggest that the collapse may have been caused by structural weakening due to age and lack of maintenance. Officials said a detailed technical investigation is underway to determine the exact cause.

Delhi’s Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma announced the formation of a three-member committee to probe the incident. The panel has been asked to submit its report within 48 hours. “We have constituted a committee to examine all aspects, including the condition of the structure and the circumstances leading to the collapse. Responsibility will be fixed based on the findings, and necessary action will follow,” the minister said.

“The steel truss foot overbridge near Mother Dairy in Roop Nagar was constructed approximately 33 years ago and had significantly deteriorated over time,” he said. The bridge was inspected earlier in March 2025 and was found to be structurally unsafe. Acting on this assessment, authorities had closed the bridge for public use in July 2025 and put in place necessary restrictions, he added.

He also ordered a comprehensive structural audit of all similar iron foot overbridges across the city to assess their safety and prevent such incidents in the future.

Authorities have cordoned off the area to avoid further risk. Forensic and technical teams have inspected the site and collected evidence. Police are also recording statements of local residents to reconstruct the sequence of events.

The incident has once again highlighted concerns over ageing infrastructure and poor enforcement of safety measures in the capital. Despite being declared unsafe and officially closed, the continued use of the bridge points to gaps in monitoring and compliance.

Earlier this year, a similar lapse in safety led to the death of a man in West Delhi’s Janakpuri. The victim, Kamal Dhyani, fell into a 15 to 20-foot-deep pit dug for sewer work that lacked barricades, reflectors, or warning signs. He had called a friend minutes before the fall, saying he was about to reach home.

Officials said further action in the Roop Nagar case will depend on the findings of the inquiry committee. Residents, meanwhile, have demanded urgent repairs and removal of unsafe structures to prevent more tragedies.

Locals Confront Politician

New Delhi: Emotions ran high after the collapse of a widely used 60-foot bridge in north Delhi’s Roop Nagar area killed a woman, with local residents confronting political leaders who reached the spot on Tuesday. Among the visiting leaders were Model Town MLA Ashok Goel and former legislator from the constituency Akhilesh Pati Tripathi.

Locals from Gur Mandi, including Vikas Kumar, Ishwar Singh and Kavita, surrounded leaders and asked why no concrete measures were taken to completely restrict access to the bridge despite it being declared unsafe. They questioned why people were allowed to continue using the structure and why no timely action was taken even after several complaints flagged the risk.