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<\/div>\nOver 140 people died after the cable bridge in Gujarat collapsed yesterday<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
New Delhi: <\/b><\/p>\n
The cable bridge over the River Machhu in Gujarat’s Morbi snapped due to a heavy rush of people, sources in India’s top forensic laboratory have said. The colonial-era bridge, shut for renovation for seven months, collapsed yesterday, killing 141.<\/p>\n
Forensics officers used gas cutters to collect samples of the structure, sources said. They found that the huge rush of people overloaded and weakened the structural integrity of the just-renovated cable bridge, sources said.<\/p>\n
Footage from just before the collapse showed a group of people taking photos while others tried to sway the bridge before they tumbled into the river as the metal cables gave way.<\/p>\n
Different old videos on social media, reportedly taken before the renovation, also show dozens of people jumping and running on the bridge, in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to sway the structure for fun.<\/p>\n
Oreva group, a Gujarat-based watchmaker, carried out the repairs on the century-old bridge. It reopened the bridge on October 26, the Gujarati New Year, after taking seven months for the repairs.<\/p>\n
A 15-year contract between the Morbi municipal body and Ajanta Manufacturing Pvt Ltd, which is a part of Oreva group, allows Oreva to maintain the bridge and collect payment in the form of tickets, up to Rs 17 per person.<\/p>\n
The watchmaker reportedly outsourced the “technical aspect of the renovation” to a smaller construction company, Devprakash Solutions.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a rally in his home state Gujarat, where assembly elections are due by the year-end, today said he will “leave no stone unturned” to provide relief to the survivors, injured people and families of those who died in the tragedy.<\/p>\n
Morbi municipal body chief Sandeepsinh Zala said Oreva did not inform the authorities about reopening the bridge and the company had not been issued a fitness certificate to do so. Oreva officials haven’t responded to the allegation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n