Woman, Her Toddler Son Killed After Under-Construction Metro Pillar Comes Crashing Down

A woman and her two-year-old son died, while her husband and daughter were injured after an under-construction metro pillar came crashing down on their two-wheeler Tuesday.

The tragic incident took place in the Nagavara area of India's IT capital Bengaluru. The family of four was traveling on a bike to drop Tejaswini, the mother of the twin children, 28, at her workplace, and the 2-year-old toddlers - Vihan and Sushmita - at a playschool nearby when they met with the accident, The Indian Express reported.

Tejaswini's husband, Lohith, 33, and their daughter escaped unscathed. The woman and her son sustained severe injuries after the pillar fell on them and were rushed to a hospital, where they died during treatment, NDTV reported.

Police said Lohith was driving the bike and Tejaswini was the pillion rider. The beam was about 40 feet long and was made of metal rods.

"A Metro pillar collapsed and hit a bike on which four people were traveling. Tejasvini and her son Vihan were seriously injured and immediately shifted to the Altius hospital. Unfortunately, they died there," Dr. Bheemashankar S Guled, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru East, told NDTV.

A case has been registered and an investigation is underway.

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited said that a private company, Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) Limited, was responsible for the construction mishap that killed Tejaswini and her son. BMRCL told The Quint that a preliminary investigation showed the wire which was holding the pillar to its cast came loose, causing the huge structure to fall over.

The BMRCL is expected to issue a show-cause notice to the construction company. "Show cause notices will be issued to the company and chief engineers. BMRCL will also constitute a technical team to probe the cause of the accident to prevent such mishaps," BMRCL told The Quint in a statement.

The pillar was built as part of the ongoing construction work of the Nagawara Metro station, which would connect Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport via Outer Ring Road, The Indian Express reported, citing police sources.

Meanwhile, Bengaluru Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has promised to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter.