The bridge, built in 1980, was under repair and maintenance work by the MPRDC, when its portion collapsed. The labourers working under the bridge, however, had a close shave. A sum of Rs 98 lakh was sanctioned for the repair and maintenance of the bridge, due to rusting of reinforcement slabs.

Owing to the incident, the road traffic on the concerned route has been diverted through the old culvert in the Nayagaon Kalan village.

The Raisen district collector Arun Kumar Vishwakarma and district police superintendent Ashutosh went to the spot and later took stock of the condition of the injured at the hospital.

Subsequently, the state government suspended AA Khan, a manager at the MPRDC, and issued show-cause notices to the current and former divisional managers and assistant managers, official sources in Bhopal, said.

Also, a three-member inquiry committee headed by chief engineer Gopal Singh has been constituted and given a week’s time to submit its fact-finding report.