Prime Minister Narendra Modi today chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation in Morbi, where a suspension bridge collapse killed 141 people on Sunday. During the meeting, Modi was briefed on the rescue and relief operations that have been underway ever since the unfortunate mishap took place in Morbi. All aspects relating to the tragedy were discussed, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
The high-level meeting was attended by CM Bhupendra Bhai Patel, MoS Home Harsh Sanghavi, the Chief Secretary and DGP of Gujarat, along with other top officials including from the Home Department of the State and Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority.
After the meeting, the chief minister said that the government has decided to observe a state-wide mourning in Gujarat on November 2.
In a tragic incident, the Morbi bridge collapsed on Sunday evening, just four days after it was opened after renovation. The tragic incident brought the spotlight on the company involved in the maintenance and upkeep of the said bridge.
The company, Oreva Group, had opened the bridge to the public five months prior to its scheduled opening. The company was given a deadline of 8-12 months to finish the suspension bridge's maintenance and cleaning.
Earlier in the day, the Rajkot Police informed that nine people have been arrested in the bridge collapse incident. Those arrested include the managers of Oreva company and ticket clerks. Rajkot range IG Ashok Yadav said that among the nine people arrested are two managers of Oreva company, two ticket clerks, two contractors, and three security guards.
Also read: Morbi bridge collapse: US, Russia, Poland, Nepal, others condole tragedy