17 workers die when a crane falls on a highway under construction

At least 17 workers were killed and several injured when a crane fell on a highway under construction in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, authorities said Tuesday.

The incident took place at midnight in the Thane district, when the crane collapsed on the workers, leaving 17 dead so far.

Emergency teams are in the area where the accident took place to help the injured and collaborate in the rescue efforts, so the number of victims could increase in the next few hours.

It is presumed that between three and five people are still trapped in the rubble, an official with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said, according to the Indian news agency PTI. So far the authorities have not indicated what may have been the causes of the collapse of this structure.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, expressed his condolences to the families of those who died in this “tragic mishap” and announced compensation of about $2,400. Shinde also expressed his grief over the incident and ordered an extra payment of $6,000 to the families of the victims.

Accidents of this type are relatively common in India, often due to poor infrastructure and lack of maintenance. At the end of last October, at least 132 people died in western India when a suspension bridge collapsed, in the worst accident of its kind in decades in the Asian country.