The Indian Police have arrested nine workers of the company Oreva, in charge of the renovation work of the suspension bridge that collapsed on Sunday in Morbi, in the state of Gurajat, where at least 141 people have died, 47 of them minors.
The arrests have come as the company faces various charges of violating safety regulations and proceeding to reopen the bridge prematurely, which would have led to the tragedy.
Oreva allegedly left the technical aspects of the bridge renovation in the hands of a smaller company with an unknown track record, Devprakash Solutions, according to NDTV television reports.
According to initial reports, Oreva proceeded to reopen the bridge ahead of schedule and without the relevant certificate from the authorities. The services of this company were contracted last March and the bridge was reopened only five days ago, on October 26.
However, the contract indicated that the bridge had to be closed for at least eight months or a year to carry out the relevant maintenance work.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Morbi on Tuesday as part of his three-day trip to Gujarat, where he is scheduled to hold several election events. Modi has vowed that he will «leave no ground unturned» in providing response and relief to the survivors, injured and relatives of the victims.
