NEW DELHI - GIANT cranes hoisting massive steel and concrete beams collapsed yesterday at a construction site of the Delhi Metro rail, a day after six workers were killed in the worst accident of the project's 12-year history.

Onlookers and workers scattered as one 300-tonne crane was momentarily hoisted into the air, lifted by the weight of the steel and concrete it was helping to boost.

Three other cranes proved unable to bear the load. The arms of two of them collapsed like twigs, while steel and concrete fell all around. Six people sustained minor injuries in the accident.

The mishap took place under the full glare of television cameras, adding to the embarrassment of the Delhi government and celebrated Delhi Metro Rail chief Elattuvalapil Sreedharan.

On Sunday, an engineer and five workers died when a pillar supporting a partly-built bridge collapsed along the rail stretch being constructed in the stylish Greater Kailash area of the city.

Mr Sreedharan announced his resignation as the chairman and managing director of Delhi Metro hours after Sunday's mishap, but the Congress- led administration, joined by the principal opposition party, rejected it.

'Sreedharan's resignation would serve no purpose,' said Mr O.P. Kohli, Delhi unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Party. 'The government should ensure that such incidents do not delay the Commonwealth Games-related projects.'

Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, who has appointed an expert panel to submit a report on Sunday's accident, said: 'The Metro and the country need Sreedharan just now.'

Delhi hosts the Commonwealth Games next year and has been rushing a slew of infrastructure projects, including a new international airport, to showcase the capital.

Mr Sreedharan, 77, has a reputation for completing railway projects ahead of schedule. 'Metro Man', as he is called here, is also regarded as one of India's most incorruptible men, unafraid to tick off powerful politicians who try to interfere in his work.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.