I saw this article on my news feed this morning and my very first reaction was to wonder if they'd privatized infrastructure there as well. Who built the bridge? Same contractors who built all of the insta-crumbling infrastructure we commissioned in Iraq? Halliburton getting any contracts from the Pakistan government?
Six die in Pakistan bridge collapse
An investigation into the collapse has been ordered [AFP]
A recently constructed road bridge has collapsed in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi, killing at least six people and injuring others.
Rescuers were trying to clear the wreckage to retrieve those trapped and injured amid fears the death toll from Saturday's accident could rise.
At least two cars and a police van were crushed under the debris, and a truck with a trailer and a minibus lay upturned by the fallen bridge.
The bridge was opened only two months ago by Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistani president.
Mustafa Kamal, the mayor of Karachi, said the authorities were using heavy machinery and bulldozers to remove debris and pull out injured people trapped in at least two or three vehicles.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
Probe ordered
Witnesses said a portion of the bridge known as Northern Bypass fell with a huge bang while traffic was on it.
Mohammed Iqbal, a survivor who escaped through the window of a small bus that fell from the bridge, told the Pakistani Geo news channel he had heard cries for help from those trapped in the rubble.
Zahid Khan, a witness, said "It created such a huge sound that we thought it was an earthquake."
Shaukat Aziz, the Pakistani prime minister, expressed sorrow over the loss of life and concern over the quality of construction of the bridge.
"Investigations have been ordered to find the reasons of the collapse and people responsible for substandard construction would be taken to task," Aziz said.
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