Desk Correspondent , Jammu – At least three to four laborers remain trapped under debris after a portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, May 1, 2026. Emergency teams rushed to the site immediately following the incident, successfully rescuing one injured worker who has since been shifted to a local hospital for urgent medical treatment. Security forces  suspect the traffic being allowed on the old bridge while construction work on the new bridge was underway to be the cause of this incident.

Local authorities and disaster management officials have launched a large-scale rescue operation to reach those pinned beneath the concrete and steel structures. While the exact cause of the sudden collapse is yet to be determined, preliminary reports suggest the workers were engaged in routine maintenance or construction activities when the span gave way without warning.

Despite the quick reaction one of the workers were found dead. “We rescued the mason, Tarsem Lal of Kanachak. However, a laborer was found dead in the debris. Searches are still on to rescue possibly two more labourers,” said, Chinore police post in-charge, SI Sahil Singh Chib. A formal investigation is expected to be ordered to check for potential safety lapses or structural failures. Family members of the labourers said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. They said two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.