According to reports from Sairang Dinthar Veng residents, the bridge collapsed at around 9:30 AM on August 23,2023. The exact number of people the bridge collapsed with is not yet known, but the residents report at least 30 construction workers were on the bridge when it collapsed. Ten bodies have been recovered so far, and the number of fatalities is expected to rise as recovery efforts progress.
The Bairabi-Sairang line, currently under construction, is a 51 km long railway line from Bairabi to Sairang under the Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of Indian Railways. The proposed rail line entails 130 bridges, 23 tunnels and four stations: Hortoki, Kawnpui, Mualkhang and Sairang.
The rail line was estimated to be completed by March, 2023 but due to various setbacks from the pandemic, it is still under construction as of August 2023.
