All victims retrieved in Morbi Bridge Collapse, no one missing: Sources
Nov 03, 2022
Morbi (Gujarat) [India], November 3 : All the victims have been retrieved and no one is missing in Morbi bridge collapse tragedy in Gujarat district, the official sources said on Thursday.
At least 135 people were killed and over 100 injured after a cable suspension bridge in Morbi town collapsed on Sunday, plunging people into the Machchhu river.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Morbi district administration received the information that one person was missing in the tragedy but that information has been found to be untrue in the police verification, they added.
The commandant of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Prasanna Kumar, citing information from district administration, had also said on Wednesday that one or two people were missing and the rescue operation was still underway.
As many as four of the nine accused in the tragedy have been arrested and remanded to police custody. Five are still at large.
Gujarat Police had filed a First Information Report under IPC sections 304 and 308 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) against the nine people of Oreva group, prima facie responsible for the bridge collapse tragedy.
Of the four persons in police custody, two are managers of the Oreva company, which threw the bridge open for visitors after seven months of maintenance works, and the other two are fabrication work contractor's people.
Speaking on the ongoing investigation, Rahul Tripathi, SP, Morbi, said, "We are questioning all the 4 accused in our custody and we are trying to establish the liability of the different kinds of lapses in the bridge renovation. We are doing a thorough investigation and if anyone's role comes forward, he or she will be booked and arrested."
He added further, "Yes, we have given a scientific report to the court but details of the same can't be shared with you at this stage as this will hamper our investigation." Statewide mourning was observed in Gujarat on Wednesday with the national flag flown at half-mast on the government buildings in the state.
