Guwahati: All the fatalities have been retrieved and nobody is still missing in the tragedy of the collapse of the Morbi Bridge in Gujarat district, according to government authorities 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.
The police verified earlier information provided to the Morbi district administration that one person was still missing from the disaster, but they later discovered it to be false.
According to information from the district administration, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) commandant Prasanna Kumar also stated on Wednesday that one or two persons were still missing and that the rescue effort was still in progress.
As many as four of the nine accused in the incident have been arrested and handed over to police. Five remain on the loose.
Gujarat Police had filed a First Information Report against the nine members of the Oreva gang who were ostensibly in charge of the tragic bridge collapse under IPC sections 304 and 308 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
Four individuals have been arrested by the police, two of them are managers for the Oreva firm, which opened the bridge to pedestrians after seven months of maintenance work, and the other two are employees of a fabrication work contractor.
Speaking on the ongoing investigation, Rahul Tripathi, SP, Morbi, said, “We are interrogating each of the four suspects we have in custody in an effort to determine who is responsible for the many shortcomings in the bridge renovation. If someone comes forward with information about their involvement, we will book and arrest them. We are doing a comprehensive investigation.”
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.” Gujarat on Wednesday marked a day of national sorrow, with the flag flying at half-staff on all official buildings in the state.