5 company staffers held in India flyover collapse
Print Edition
INDIAN police said yesterday they have detained five staffers at the company building a flyover that collapsed, killing at least 25 people, as hopes of finding more survivors faded.
Emergency workers using specialist equipment have pulled nearly 100 people out alive from under the huge concrete slabs and metal girders that fell onto a busy street in the eastern city of Kolkata on Thursday, crushing cars and pedestrians.
Yesterday they said there was little hope of finding any more survivors under the rubble of the flyover, which had been under construction since 2009.
“The rescue operation will not stop until all the blocks of concrete and iron girders have been cleared,” said deputy police commissioner Akhilesh Chaturvedi as he announced the toll had risen to 25.
“Nearly 300 rescuers, including army and disastermanagement personnel, are working around the clock to clear the rubble.”
Police said they had detained five staff of IVRCL, the contractor behind the construction project, which has denied responsibility for the disaster in the capital of West Bengal state.
“Five people of the Hyderabad company have been detained for questioning,” said Kolkata deputy commissioner of police Akhilesh Chaturvedi, referring to the contractor.
Police earlier said they had registered a case of culpable homicide against the firm, whose offices in Kolkata have been sealed by investigators.
Derek O’Brien, a state lawmaker, said the company had been blacklisted in other states and had a “bad reputation.”
“The law will take its own course, no one will be spared,” he said in Kolkata.
Construction of the two-kilometer-long flyover began in 2009 and was supposed to be done within 18 months, but has suffered a series of hold-ups.
A company representative infuriated victims on Thursday when he described the disaster as an “act of God.”
Yesterday the company appeared again to deny any responsibility for the disaster, and said the construction had been repeatedly delayed because it had been unable to get the necessary approvals.
“Prima facie we feel it is a mere accident for which we also feel very, very sorry,” IVRCL’s legal chief Seetha Peddapathi said in the southern city of Hyderabad where the company is based.
“IVRCL and its staff will cooperate with the investigations and provide maximum support.”
The disaster is the latest in a string of deadly construction accidents in India, where enforcement of safety rules is weak and substandard materials are often used.
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