Patna: At least three people, including a child, were feared drowned when a bridge gave away in Bihar's Araria district, taking the death toll in the flood-hit state to 98.
A video which has since gone viral shows people racing across the precarious bridge in small groups to get to safety. The structure collapsed just when a family of three was one step from safety.
The flood situation in Bihar has worsened in the past couple of days as the death toll kept going up. The Bihar floods have affected nearly 98 lakh people in 16 districts, forcing postponement of examination and cancellation of trains.
According to a PTI report, the toll due to the floods triggered by rains in Nepal and northern parts of the state was 72 till Wednesday, and 73.44 lakh people in 14 districts were hit.
Saharsa and Khagaria were the latest districts to be affected on Thursday, Special Secretary in the Disaster Management Department, Anirudh Kumar, said.
Though the Met office has forecast the possibility of rain in southern Bihar for one more week, there would be less rainfall in Nepal and northern parts of Bihar. This could further aggravate the situation in Bihar.
The Bihar health department has launched a toll-free number '104' to help people in distress with information on the floods, Principal Secretary of Health R K Mahajan said at a press briefing.
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