Indian company charged in Kolkata overpass collapse
Several killed by bridge collapse in India 02:17
At least
24 people died midday Thursday when a section of a bridge that was under
construction crashed down onto the streets of Kolkata's Girish Park
area.
While there was no immediate
response to the charges from the company Friday, an IVRCL executive has
said the whole thing was not his construction company's fault.
"It's nothing but a God's act," K. Panduranga Rao of the Hyderabad-based company told reporters, according to CNN IBN. "So far in 27 years, we have constructed several number of bridges ... it never happened."
That's not to say, though, that bridges or other overpasses under construction haven't collapsed before in India.
A
bridge fell on an express train in Bhagalpur in 2006, killing 37
passengers. Three years later, 30 workers died after scaffolding on a
bridge being built in Kota crashed down.
And
in eastern Kolkata, not far from Thursday's collapse, a fully
constructed overpass collapsed in March 2013. That sent a truck
careening into a canal, though the people inside were rescued.
It's not clear what role, if any, IVRCL had in any of those incidents.
Rao's
comments drew fervent criticism on social media, with some calling for
engineers and executives behind the project to be punished.
"Only the poor victims are to blame!" an
incredulous Jayaprakash Narayan, a doctor and Loksatta Party founder,
wrote on Twitter. "How dare they use roads?"
Friday's
charges, then, represent the first step toward levying official blame
-- and punishment -- on those involved in building the bridge instead.
Search effort wrapping up
The
2-kilometer Vivekananda Overpass project had been in the works for
years. It was supposed to be finished five years ago, only to be plagued
by delays.
About 100
meters (328 feet) of the overpass buried moving cars and pedestrians,
quickly setting off a frantic rescue operation. Civilians and
authorities took part, spraying water, carrying out debris and doing
whatever else they could to save those trapped in the rubble.
They
were later replaced by an army of hard-hatted rescue crews, who toiled
under bright lights and used heavy machinery to lift wide slabs of
fallen concrete.
About 80 people
were pulled out suffering injuries, but at least alive, said Maj. Gen.
Anurag Gupta of India's National Disaster Management Authority.
As
of late Friday afternoon, there hadn't been any rescues for hours.
While there was still work to be done -- at least three trucks remained
pinned under a large concrete slab at that time, while volunteers busily
passed off water to rescuers at the site -- it's not likely to go on
for much longer.
"They are coming to the end of the operations," Gupta told CNN. "More or less, the debris has been cleared.
"By this evening, if they don't find anyone else, they will stop the search."
CNN's Sugam Pokharel reported from Kolkata, and CNN's Greg Botelho reported and wrote from Atlanta.
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