New Delhi Bridge Collapse Kills Six; Probe Is Ordered (Update2)

July 13 (Bloomberg) -- A sixth person died after the collapse of a bridge being built for the metro rail system in the Indian capital, New Delhi, police said, as officers began a criminal investigation into the incident.
At least 15 people were injured yesterday, police spokesman Rajan Bhagat said in a telephone interview from the city.
Five sections of trackbed were in place on the elevated stretch running from Central Secretariat to Badarpur and a sixth was being positioned when the collapse happened, Anuj Dayal, a spokesman for the Delhi Metro Rail Corp., said yesterday.
It was the second fatal accident in nine months on the 300 billion-rupee ($6.1 billion) project. One person died and at least 10 were injured in a similar accident in October.
Police officers, defense personnel and about 100 engineers are using cranes and acetylene torches to clear the area, Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy said in parliament today.
Three cranes mounted on a truck that were clearing the debris toppled over at the site today while trying to lift a steel girder, Dayal said. At least six people were injured in the crash and the three drivers are safe, he said.
There is a “direct loss” of 60 million rupees because of yesterday’s collapse, Reddy said. That stretch of the project will be delayed for three months, he said.
A committee has been formed to probe the incident and it will submit a report in 10 days, Reddy said.
Taking Responsibility
The system will serve 2 million people in the metropolitan region when its 121-kilometer (75-mile) second stage is completed next year. Construction started in 1998, with 65 kilometers of railway operational as of 2004.
E. Sreedharan, Delhi Metro’s managing director, resigned yesterday, taking “full moral responsibility for this accident.” Sreedharan withdrew his resignation today following a request from Sheila Dikshit, the chief minister of the federally administered region, to stay on, spokesman Dayal said.

The accident didn’t happen because of any “hurry” to complete the project before the city hosts the Commonwealth Games in October 2010, Reddy said.