The company responsible for renovating the Morbi bridge, the collapse of which killed 135 people, including 47 children on Sunday in western India, was questioned by a prosecutor in view of the first elements of the investigation. According to the police, the main rusty support cable had not been changed and too heavy a coating had been placed on the old work dating from the colonial era, weakening the structure.
About 500 people had gathered on this pedestrian bridge for the Diwali celebrations, about 200 kilometers west of Ahmedabad, the main city in the state of Gujarat.
Nine people linked to the local group Oreva, manufacturer of clocks and electric bicycles, but also manager of the bridge, have already been arrested for manslaughter, after the disaster, one of the worst in India for decades.
No certificate of conformity
Oreva”hired contractors who were not qualified enough“, Attorney General Harshendu Panchal told the press after a preliminary hearing on Tuesday evening. “The main bridge cable was not changed during the renovation“, he added.
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“Police also believe the weight of the bridge was increased by four layers of aluminum pedestrian surfacing laid by the contractors, which may have caused the bridge to collapse“, he continued.
The 233-meter-long bridge, a major tourist attraction in the region, had just reopened to the public last Wednesday after seven months of renovations, the cost of which would amount to 20 million rupees ($240,000). According to the Gujarat authorities, no certificate of conformity had been issued before the work was put back into service.
“It’s God’s will”
Local authorities had awarded Oreva a 15-year contract to operate and maintain the bridge, but the company had no experience in this type of management, according to investigative evidence. Oreva Group director Deepak Parekh reportedly told the court: “It is God’s will that such an unfortunate incident should happen.“.
He and another Oreva director, along with two contractors, were remanded in custody, while five ticket sellers and security guards were sent to jail to await trial.
Accidents involving old and poorly maintained infrastructure, including bridges, are common in India, but given the scale of the tragedy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the scene on Tuesday and promised a “detailed and thorough investigation to identify all aspects relating to the tragedy“. Flags were at half mast in Gujarat on Wednesday and all official and entertainment events were cancelled.