Signature Bridge: 2 medical students killed as motorcycle rams into divider and falls off in Delhi

Two bike-borne medical students were killed when their motorcycle rammed into a divider on the newly inaugurated Signature Bridge in Delhi early on Friday morning, the police said. The police received a PCR call at 8.50 am regarding the incident, however, the exact sequence of the event is yet to be ascertained. The deceased have been identified as Satya Vijay Shankaran (23) and Chandra Shekhar, they added.

Shankaran, who hailed from Ranchi, was interning with the Hindu Rao Hospital and Shekhar, a resident of Khanpur in south Delhi, was a second year MBBS student of Hindu Rao Medical College, the police said.

Delhi: Two bike-borne persons died when they fell off their motorcycle after it rammed into a divider at Signature Bridge, earlier this morning.

— ANI (@ANI) November 23, 2018

Initially, it was suspected that the victims were performing stunts. However, the have ruled out that angle. “Being a left turn, the possibility that they were performing stunts has been ruled out”, a senior police officer said.

The Signature Bridge was inaugurated by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on November 4. Built over river Yamuna, Signature Bridge is said to reduce the travel time between north and northeast Delhi, also sharing the traffic burden of the Wazirabad bridge. It offers a panoramic view of the city and has designated selfie spots. This is the first such accident on the Signature Bridge since its inauguration.

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The two were coming from the northeast district and were probably heading towards Majnu Ka Tilla, the officer said. The accident occurred on the left turn loop of the Signature Bridge after the two motorcycle riders, apparently driving at high speed, hit the divider following which the two fell down the bridge, a senior police officer said. Both the injured were rushed to a hospital where they were declared brought dead by doctors, he said.

Based on the registration number of the motorcycle, police is trying to establish the identify of the victims, the officer said. Once the bodies have been identified, they will be sent for a post-mortem examination.

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There's a lot of excitement among the people of Delhi to visit the newly opened Signature Bridge. The eagerness, however, turned risky on November 9 night, when people got out of their vehicles and stood on the suspension cables to get their pictures clicked. Some could be also seen hanging out from their moving cars to click selfies.

Announced in 2004, the bridge has missed several deadlines since 2011. The proposal for the bridge, mooted in 2004, received approval of the Delhi Cabinet in 2007. It was initially expected to be completed at a modified estimate of Rs 1,131 crore for the Commonwealth Games, held in Delhi in October 2010. In 2015, the cost of the project rose to Rs 1,594 crore. Reportedly, the bridge was proposed for the first time as early as in 1997 at an initial cost of Rs 464 crore.