MORBI, India (AP) — Police in western India arrested nine people on Monday as they investigated the collapse of a newly repaired 143-year-old suspension bridge in one of the country’s worst accidents in years, officials said. The collapse Sunday evening in Gujarat state plunged hundreds of people into a river, killing at least 134.
As families mourned the dead, attention turned to why the pedestrian bridge, built during British colonialism in the late 1800s & touted by the state’s tourism website as an “artistic & technological marvel,” collapsed & who might be responsible. The bridge had reopened just 4 days earlier.
Inspector-General Ashok Yadav said police have formed a special investigative team, and that those arrested include managers of the bridge’s operator, Oreva Group & its staff.
Gujarat authorities opened a case against Oreva for suspected culpable homicide, attempted culpable homicide & other violations.
The bridge has been repaired several times in the past & many of its original parts have been replaced over the years.
Sandeepsinh Zala, a Morbi official, told the Indian Express newspaper the company reopened the bridge without first obtaining a “fitness certificate.”
Authorities said the structure collapsed under the weight of hundreds of people. A security video of the disaster showed it shaking violently & people trying to hold on to its cables & metal fencing before the aluminum walkway gave way & crashed into the river.
The bridge split in the middle with its walkway hanging down, its cables snapped.
Police said at least 134 people were confirmed dead & many others were admitted to hospitals in critical condition. State minister Harsh Sanghvi said most of the victims were teenagers, women & older people.
At least 177 survivors were pulled from the river, said Jigar Khunt, an information department official in Gujarat.
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