Hamirpur, UP: An under-construction bridge collapsed during a severe storm, killing at least five workers and leaving several others feared trapped, police said Friday.

The incident happened late Thursday night in the Hamirpur district of Uttar Pradesh. Severe winds and heavy rain caused a massive concrete slab of the unfinished structure to give way, burying labourers underneath.

Disaster response teams and local authorities launched an emergency rescue operation in the early hours of Friday morning to clear the debris and search for survivors.

Arvind Kumar Verma, the assistant superintendent of police in Hamirpur, said emergency personnel rushed to the site as soon as the incident was reported.

“We reached the spot immediately after receiving the information around 2 am last night that a slab had collapsed and some people were trapped beneath it. SDRF is here, and rescue operations are underway. We have retrieved and identified 5 deceased,” Verma said.