Status: 10/31/2022 4:40 p.m
Indian police have arrested nine people over a bridge collapse. Among them are two managers from the company that had previously renovated the bridge. The number of dead has increased.
Nine people suspected of being responsible have been arrested after a pedestrian bridge collapsed in India. This was announced by the police of the state of Gujarat. Those arrested are charged with culpably causing deaths.
Investigation against contractors
These are people with connections to the construction company that had recently renovated the footbridge. “Among the nine arrested are two managers from the Oreva company, two ticket sellers, two building contractors and three security guards,” police said. After the accident, she launched an investigation into the contractor.
The suspension bridge in the western Indian city of Morbi, popular with tourists, collapsed on Sunday when a crowd of 400 to 500 people gathered on or around it during a religious holiday. After the suspension cable ruptured, the bridge is said to have collapsed within seconds. The historic building from the 19th century had been renovated for months and only reopened last week.
Reports of over 140 dead
The newspaper “Hindustan Times” reported that significantly more people were on the bridge than had bought tickets for their access. A security guard couldn’t stop her. A local official told NDTV that the local authorities had not yet inspected the bridge after the renovation work and had not given the go-ahead for its reopening.
The number of deaths is said to have risen to at least 141, according to the dpa news agency, citing the police. Other agencies report confirmed deaths ranging from 133 to 137, including about 50 children. Most of the victims were women, children and the elderly, it said.
At least 177 people were rescued from the Machchhu River, over which the bridge spans.
Search for missing persons continues
Footage from surveillance cameras and videos on local television and social media shows people in the water holding on to bridge sections, screaming and rescue teams on boats coming towards them after the collapse. Many Indians cannot swim.
Images were also circulating on the Internet showing how, shortly before the collapse, many people jumped on the 1.25 meter wide and 230 meter long pedestrian bridge and how it moved back and forth accordingly. An eyewitness told NDTV that the bridge swayed so much that one could not stand without holding on. According to him, no one tried to control the crowd.
Disasters due to old and poorly maintained infrastructure are common in India. 26 people were killed when an elevated highway collapsed in Kolkata in 2016. In 2011, at least 32 people died in the north-east of the country when a holiday crush caused a bridge to collapse.