Stampede causes bridge to collapse in Bangladesh

A bridge collapsed today under the weight of thousands of hungry cyclone victims stampeding toward a relief centre in south-western Bangladesh, and officials said at least one person died and 100 were injured.

Rescuers worked to remove fallen concrete slabs to search for people feared crushed underneath, while frantic villagers gathered around the site on a river in Patuakhali district, one of the areas hit hardest by Tropical Cyclone Sidr earlier this month.

At least 100 people were injured and one person was killed in the bridge collapse, said Ashraful Zaman, an official at the local Disaster Management Control Room.

Zaman said the offer of rice that caused the stampede was distributed by a private company or non-government organisation that had not alerted local officials of its plans.

Mamun Ali, eight, was waiting on the riverbank for his father, who had been crossing the dilapidated bridge to bring back rice for his family when the bridge collapsed.

In the ensuing chaos, he said he saw rescuers taking his injured father away.