5 people detained in India as flyover collapse toll mounts to 25

Indian officials said on Friday that five people belonging to the construction company that was building a flyover in the eastern state of West Bengal were arrested for questioning.

A 60-meter portion of the overpass collapsed Thursday afternoon at Vivekananda Road in the busy capital city of Kolkata, killing 25 and injuring scores of others.

Rescuers using heavy machinery safely pulled over 90 people from the debris of concrete and mangled steel. The flyover's massive steel girders and concrete slabs crumpled vehicles and rickshaws under it.

The number of people trapped underneath the debris was unknown.

However, hopes of finding more survivors seem to be fading with every passing hour.

The flyover was being constructed by a Hyderabad-based construction company IVRCL.

Police has sealed the Kolkata office of the company and sent a team to Hyderabad for questioning higher officials of IVRCL.

"IVRCL faces charges of attempted murder, mischief and criminal conspiracy in connection with the collapse of an overpass in Kolkata," a senior police official told Xinhua.

"We would be investigating the company officials for alleged culpable homicide and criminal breach of trust."

The company signed a contract for constructing the overpass in 2009 and was supposed to complete the project in August 2010.

It has missed nine deadlines with the latest deadline being August 2016. Reports say 80 percent of the work on the flyover has been completed so far.

K Panduranga Rao, an official of IVRCL, described the accident "an Act of God" following the deadly incident.

"It's nothing but a God's act," Rao told media. "So far in 27 years we have constructed several number of bridges, it (today's collapse) never happened."

The state's Chief Minister Mamta Banarjee blamed the construction company and the previous government that had commissioned the project for the deadly collapse.

However, the opposition accused her of playing politics.

Derek O'Brien, chief spokesman of the ruling party in West Bengal said "the most stringent action will be taken" against those responsible for collapse.

"A team from Kolkata Police is already in Hyderabad, acting on three FIRs (first information reports) filed against IVRCL, the contractor building the flyover," O'Brien wrote in his column in NDTV website.

Deadly accidents due to failing infrastructure is common in India. Experts blame the lax administration and corruption for flouting building rules and messy project delays that often results in using poor quality materials, inadequate supervision and poor safety standards for workers. Endit