[rusty]

Bridge collapses near Delhi Games stadium

Because the Engineering Mistakes thread is closed I post it here.

A footbridge under construction near the Commonwealth Games main stadium in India's capital New Delhi has collapsed, injuring at least 23 people, five of them seriously, throwing further doubt on the viability of next month's multi-nation games.

The five seriously injured people were taken to hospitals, police said.

Media reports said all of the victims were construction workers.

Images:

Info:

The 100-metre overhead bridge was to connect a parking lot with the main Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which is to host opening and closing ceremonies as well as showpiece athletic events for the October 3-14 games.

An AFP reporter at the scene said police had sealed off the area and heavy lifting equipment had begun shifting sections of the footbridge which had fallen down onto the car park tarmac below.

A giant steel arch over the bridge was still standing, but load-bearing metal cables that had previously held up the overpass had snapped and could be seen dangling in the air.

"The cementing of the footbridge was being done in the morning," chief secretary of Delhi Rakesh Mehta told CNN-IBN television. "The engineers are looking into the cause of the accident."

Severe delays in the completion of the athletes' village have thrown the sporting event into jeopardy.

The collapse came as the Commonwealth Games Federation went public with complaints about the athletes' village, which was described as "filthy", "uninhabitable" and "not fit for humans" by participants and officials.

here you can watch a video report about the collapse:

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Meanwhile I searched for informations I've found this bridge-collapse from Delhi too
Delhi Metro bridge collapse, 12 July 2009:

[ibg0203]

hope some structural failure analysis report or conclusion shared later.

[ivanveliki]

I cannot see a broken metal cable. It seems that the connections between the cables and the deck did not withstand the selfweight of the deck.

[Arigato]

probable causes
- designed as simply supported.
- cables not strong enough obviously.
- reinforcement not sufficient
- rebar detailing improper
- sequential construction not considered during design.
- low strength concrete or improper curing

also, no fail safe in case cables snaps
-no ballast at the end slabs
-slabs disconnected with supports (simply supported)

[visu]

Looks the cable end eye not done properly may be the major cause of failure. And there may be no redundant cable allowance given in structural design.