The bridge collapse in India's western Gujarat state that killed at least 135 people might have been caused by rusty cables, investigating officers told a court.
The 233-metre suspension bridge, built during British rule in the 19th century over the Machchhu river near the town of Morbi, collapsed on Sunday.
The Victorian-era bridge had been closed for renovations for six months and was reopened last week.
While the capacity of the bridge was reportedly 150 people, more than 500 were on the structure at the time of the collapse, mostly women and children who had gathered to perform rituals for the Hindu festival of Chhath puja and Gujarati new year.
The renovation work was undertaken by Oreva Group, which specialises in wall clocks and electric bikes.
It charged 17 rupees ($0.21) for a ticket, but officials told local media that the group did not have permission to reopen the bridge as it did not have a municipality test certificate for the structure.
PA Zala, deputy superintendent of police in Morbi who is investigating the incident, told a local court on Tuesday that the cables were rusty and had not been repaired.
He said that a cable had supported the bridge and there was “no oiling or greasing”.
“The cable had corroded from the point where it snapped. This incident would not have occurred if the cable had been repaired. No records of the work that was done or how it was done have been kept,” Mr Zala said.
The prosecution told the court that the contractors who worked on the renovation work lacked appropriate training. It claimed that the flooring of the bridge had been changed but the cable was left untouched.
HS Panchal, the prosecutor, said that the forensic report mentioned that the cables of the bridge were not replaced and could not take the weight of the bridge.
“The weight of the bridge increased due to the four-layered aluminium sheets for the flooring and the cable snapped due to that weight,” Mr Panchal said.
Nine people, including Oreva staff, ticket-booking clerks and security guards have been arrested in connection with the tragedy.
The magistrate's court remanded the two managers of Oreva Group, Dipak Parekh and Dinesh Dave, and two subcontractors, Prakash Parmar and Devang Parmar in police custody until Saturday, while five other men were sent to judicial custody.
Police said everyone who had been on the bridge was now accounted for. However, several agencies were still searching for bodies believed to be trapped in the rocky river bed.
VVN Prasanna Kumar, the commandant of the National Disaster Response Force, told local news channels that the high number of casualties could be because of the rocks.
While the river water was stagnant and about 6 metres deep in the middle, the floor of the river was rocky and muddy.
“People hit the rocky bottom after falling into the river with great force … this is why many people were injured and killed,” Mr Kumar told New Delhi Television.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
