A portion of Vikramshila Setu over the Ganga River in Bihar's Bhagalpur collapsed near pillar number 133 around 12:50 am on Monday, prompting authorities to halt traffic on the bridge.
Officials said a major accident was averted due to the swift response of police personnel and the administrative team present at the site.
At the time of the incident, several small and large vehicles were on the bridge, but security forces quickly moved them back and ensured they were taken to a safe location.
District Magistrate Naval Kishore Chaudhary reached the spot soon after the collapse and carried out an on-site assessment.
Authorities have stopped all vehicular movement on the bridge.
Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Legislative Assembly wrote on X(formerly Twitter) that they had warned the government a month back that an event like this could occur, and today's event underlines why Bihar ranks at the top of the corruption list with more than 100 bridges and culverts having collapsed in the state in the past two years.
"And now, courtesy of the corrupt NDA government, the Vikramshila Bridge in Bhagalpur has taken samadhi in the Ganga River. Does one need any more direct proof of corruption than this?
At the time the bridge fell, numerous vehicles were on it, but by God's grace, they were not on the falling slab, so there was no loss of life or property," he was seen posting in Hindi.