Ahmedabad (Daily Pakistan Online) The death toll from the collapse of a bridge on a river in the Indian state of Gujarat has risen to 141, while more than 100 people are still missing. 12 members of the family of an Indian assembly member were killed in the accident. Authorities have arrested nine people, including the officials of the bridge repair company.
A day after a bridge collapse in Gujarat’s Morbi killed 141 people, nine people were arrested. They included officials from Aureva, the bridge renovation company, ticket sellers and security personnel. Aureva has been accused of violating several safety rules, leading to the tragedy just four days after the bridge was reopened to the public. Soon after signing a 15-year contract with the Morbi civic body, watchmaker Aureva reportedly outsourced the ‘technical aspect of the renovation of the bridge’ to a smaller company, Dev Prakash Solutions.
Oriva was hired in March to repair the historic colonial-era bridge. The bridge was reopened to the public seven months later, on 26 October, when the Gujarati New Year was celebrated. The company was contractually obligated to keep the bridge closed for at least eight to 12 months for maintenance and repairs. Opening the bridge last week was a ‘grossly irresponsible and careless gesture’, police said in the FIR, which did not name anyone.
Officials said tickets were sold to around 500 people at ₹12 to ₹17 yesterday, resulting in overcrowding on the ‘hanging bridge’, which gave way to old metal wires, some People were seen shaking the bridge in CCTV footage. The bridge could carry only 125 people.
According to NDTV, 12 members of the family of Lok Sabha member Mohan Kandaria from Rajkot were killed in the accident. Mohan Kandaria said that the 12 victims of his family include five children, four women and three men. , all of them were close relatives of his elder brother. He said that strict action will be taken against those responsible for the tragedy.
Entire families of many people lost their lives in the accident. Similarly unfortunate was the Jadeja family of seven who were returning from a temple when the children asked to be taken to the bridge. The family consisted of two brothers, their mother, both their daughters-in-law and four children who all died in the accident.
