AHMEDABAD: As the local authorities in Gujarat’s Morbi struggled to keep a headcount of the dead as well the number of the injured in the bridge collapse on Sunday, district civil officials said they had a list of 132 people, including 47 children under the age of 16 years who are dead.
Since Monday night, rescuers from all wings of the government two teams each from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and its state counterpart, six platoons of the Army, a team with 18 boats from the Navy, personnel of the IAF and fire service were at work at the accident site in the Machchhu river.
NDRF Commandant, VVN Prasanna Kumar said some bodies could be lying on the river floor. “Therefore, we resumed our operation with the help of deep divers,” he said.
The Collector’s office said the officials have set up a round-the-clock control room that would respond to the family members of the missing persons. So far 224 people have been rescued during the rescue operation. Out of these, 15 persons are under treatment in Morbi hospitals and two others in Rajkot hospital. As many as 73 people have been discharged from various hospitals, said the Collector’s office.
A team of a five-member committee formed by the state government to investigate the incident reached the spot on Tuesday to conduct a thorough inspection of the site. A team of the Forensic Science Laboratory also accompanied the investigating team. The team photographed the broken cable and took notes on the technical aspects of the bridge. FSL and special rescuers have launched their investigation of the bridge tower.
Forensics officers reportedly used gas cutters to collect samples of the structure. They found that the rush of people overloaded and weakened the structural integrity of the recently renovated cable bridge.
IN PHOTOS | Over 140 dead in Gujarat's Morbi bridge collapse
Meanwhile, nine persons, including officials of Oreva, the company that renovated the bridge, ticket sellers, and security men have been arrested under sections 304 and 308 (culpable homicide), and 114 abetments). The FIR does not name anyone who signed the agreement or who was looking after the renovation and maintenance of the suspension bridge.
The clock and e-bike maker Oreva group was given a contract by the Morbi Municipality to repair and operate the ill-fated hanging bridge for 15 years and charge tickets in the range of `10 to `15 for its use, as per documents of the municipality.
The Morbi Bar Association has decided that no lawyer will fight the case of the accused in the case. The nine accused were produced in the court with the administration trying to hire a lawyer from outside the district.
State Disaster Management Minister Rajendra Trivedi announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each from PM’s fund, besides Rs 50,000 for each of the injured.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to consider on November 14 a plea seeking a court-monitored probe into the incident.
The plea, which also seeks review of old bridges and monuments in India by directing states to take the responsibility for the risk assessment exercise, was mentioned by Advocate Vishal Tiwari before a bench of CJI UU Lalit and Justice Bela M Trivedi.
Flip-flop over death toll
Rescue operations continued in the Machchhu river on Tuesday morning, for the third day, following the collapse of the suspension bridge in Morbi.
On Sunday, after the incident occurred at around 8.10 pm, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi told the media that seven people had died in the bridge collapse. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Sanghvi reached Morbi at around 9:30 pm.
At around 11 pm, BJP minister Brijesh Mishra said 60 people died.
After visiting the site at Morbi, Sanghvi briefed the media at around 1.40 am on Monday and put the figure at 68.
A few hours later, at around 5-6 am on Monday, Rajkot Range IG Ashok Yadav told the media that the death toll was 141. At around 7.30 am, Sanghavi cited the figure as 132.
On Monday evening, at about 7.30 pm, Yadav gave details about the arrests carried out and said 134 people had lost their lives in the incident.
WATCH | Actual horrific moments of Morbi bridge collapse
On Tuesday, authorities confirmed that 135 people died in the incident. The confirmation came after a series of flip-flops over the death toll during the last three days.
Several officials in the meanwhile put the toll at 132. On Tuesday, the government declared the official toll as 135.
When asked by this newspaper about the constant changes, Yadav said, “There was some confusion between hospital authorities and the police department due to which death figures varied. Right now, only two or three people are missing and rescue operation is still going on.”