Gandhinagar: As the toll in the Morbi suspension bridge collapse in Gujarat rose to 140, including 50 children, two people have been arrested for the tragedy which experts are saying was man-made and totally avoidable.
According to reports, the two are employees of Oreva, the company in charge of maintenance of the bridge.
The 230m bridge over Machchu river, which was 140 years old, was reopened on October 26 – which happened to Gujarati new year day – after being shut for seven months. Repair and renovation work was carried out under Oreva’s supervision.
Oreva is being blamed for serious lapses, one of the main questions being posed is why the company reopened the bridge without taking a fitness certificate.
Senior officials of the company have been missing since the part of the bridge came down on Sunday evening.
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Around 100 people were still missing when search operations were paused for the day, reported NDTV.
According to forensic experts, the cable bridge snapped because of a heavy rush of people, most of whom were celebrating Chhath festival.
Forensic officers, who used gas cutters to collect samples of the structure, found that the hundreds of people overloaded and weakened the structural integrity of the just-renovated bridge, NDTV reported.
