Even residents of nearby residential colonies say they had seen a 'visible crack'.

A resident of Amar Colony, who identified himself as Dr. Tiwari, told IANS: 'There must have been something faulty with the design. Because we had seen a very visible crack in the pillar. We thought the stretch was still under-construction so we did not bother - but now this! Officials will have to probe the negligence of the Metro and the contractor company.'

Meanwhile, metro officials have held that the incident occurred because the launching girder of a segment of the bridge lost balance.

'The incident took place between pillars 66 and 67 when the pillar cap was affected. Ten segments were to be erected on the stretch of which five had been completed. When the sixth segment was being erected, the launching girder collapsed due to disbalance causing a portion of the bridge to fall,' DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.