Gujarat Bridge Was Rusty, Indian Police Say, Implying Tragedy Could Have Been Averted

At least 135 people died after a suspension bridge in India’s state of Gujarat collapsed into a river on Sunday evening. On Tuesday, police appealed to a local court seeking custody of four accused, while nine arrests have been made in the case so far.

The cable of the Morbi Bridge, which collapsed on Sunday, was rusty, which means the accident could have been averted, according to police investigating the incident.

“There has been no oiling or greasing done on the cable,” Superintendent of Police P. A. Zala said in his testimony before a local court on Tuesday.

The colonial-era bridge collapsed just four days after it reopened to the public following seven months of renovation. State officials said that the private builder opened the bridge without receiving a fitness certificate or even informing them.

“No documentation of what works and how it was done has been maintained. The material procured/used, if its quality was checked, remains to be probed,” Zala said.

Prosecutors also told the court that the contractors simply replaced the wooden flooring of the bridge with aluminum sheets in what they called "renovation."

“It is suspected that the bridge snapped due to [being] overweight since wooden flooring was replaced by aluminium sheet,” they said.

In March, Morbi municipality, which manages the bridge, awarded a contract to the Oreva Group (Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt Ltd) for the bridge's maintenance for 15 years.

One of the managers of Oreva, Deepak Parekh, told the court that “it was the God's will ('Bhagwan ki ichcha') that such an unfortunate event happened,” also adding that they were responsible for the welding and electrical work of the bridge and had nothing to do with the fitness of the structure.

Parekh is among the four accused in the case and is now in police custody until Saturday. Five more individuals, two ticket clerks, and three security guards were sent to judicial custody.